The Ripple Effect
As we reflect on the year, one thing is clear: the overflowing generosity of our Fresh Water Friends has made a big impact that rippled through dozens of communities.
For instance, this summer, we heard from several villages that desperately needed clean water, and set a goal to build 12 wells. Our Friends answered the call, and in a matter of weeks, all twelve wells were funded, sited, and our local partners had begun to break ground. But we didn’t stop there: over the course of this year, we’ve been privileged to bless more than 48 communities with clean, safe water.
These children were excited to taste the water at their new well!
We also built bathroom stalls to give women safety and privacy, supplied blankets and bottled water for victims of Cyclone Ditwah, and provided water filtration for children at not just one, but four schools.
The water at this school’s well was making these boys and girls sick - but now that they have reverse-osmosis filtration, the water is healthy and pure!
But there is still more work to do.
During SIWI World Water Week in August, the 2025 update shared some sobering realities:
Many women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia still spend more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
1 in 4 people – or 2.1 billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water.
Cecilia Scharp, the UNICEF director for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, summarized the concern: “When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk…At the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach – reminding us that we must act faster and more boldly to reach those who need it most.”
Nobody deserves to drink water that looks like this.
Friends, this is why our work matters, and why you are so important. While we can advocate and educate about the importance of safe drinking water, we cannot help solve the world water crisis without you, or without our field partners who champion the men, women, and children we serve.
We are excited about what we accomplished in 2025, and look forward to 2026 with a steadfast resolution to make sure that the ripples of health and hope continue to flow to even more people.