Our Strategy

Clean Water that Lasts

Water that Lasts

Bringing lasting safe water solutions that protect health, empower communities, and break the cycle of poverty across Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Haiti through our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programs.

How we make a difference

Lifewater approach

Local Teams. Lasting Change.

Our unique 3 step approach empowers local leaders and builds ownership:

  • First, we train and equip local teams in 6 areas of WASH programs including well drilling, well rehabilitations, well repairs, latrine construction, dignity kits, and workshops.
  • Second, these local teams complete projects along with community members, creating ownership through involvement.
  • Third, donor support makes projects affordable.

Relentless Innovation

We go beyond drilling—developing smarter systems, strategic site selection, and scalable models to make the hardest to reach areas easy. We ensure our overseas team meets together to keep innovating at our International Conference.

Radical Transparency

We run lean, track every dollar, and show donors exactly how they change lives—no waste, no guesswork, just transparency and impact.

Our Goals

We measure success through 4 key goals:

Access: Safe water within a 30-minute round-trip.

Safety: Water meets health standards.

Community Engagement: Locals help plan, build, and maintain.

Sustainability: Trained caretakers and long-term plans in place.

Community Ownership Matters

When wells are given freely, they’re often neglected. We’ve learned that long-term success depends on community involvement.

Villages contribute by:

  • Hosting the local teams during the project
  • Contributing a token amount of money and “sweat equity” 
  • Volunteering time and resources
  • Taking ownership of maintenance and repairs

They also set rules like:

  • When and how water is drawn
  • Who contributes to repairs
  • How to ensure safe access for women and children
  • Who to appoint as a local Well Caretaker

Well Caretaker

Every Lifewater well project since 1995 has included the training of a Well Caretaker, helping ensure the pump lasts longer and the water remains safe. Key responsibilities:

  • The handle is operated with “full” strokes to help the pump cylinder last longer
  • Proper hygiene and behavior are observed, such as prohibiting overuse, bathing, animal watering, dishwashing, laundry, littering, open defecation within a close distance, or contact with the spout using dirty hands.
  • Fair line queueing practices are followed, particularly in preventing young girls or other vulnerable people from being pushed out, and conflicts do not escalate among villagers waiting in line.

Where We Work

We focus our programs in regions where clean water is both desperately needed and realistically deliverable — like Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Where you’re born shouldn’t determine whether you live or die.

Our Development Goals

We measure success through 4 key development goals. Click on each of the goals below to learn more about its significance and scoring, and to read stories explaining why we adopted it.