Waterworks Fact Sheet

What we do

We work with remote communities in West Africa to improve access to clean drinking water, increase awareness of waterborne diseases and build long-term civic infrastructure.

How we do it

Our teams work directly with communities to provide immediate access to safe drinking water while also laying the groundwork for long-term change. Our work is divided into three areas:

Water access and purification: Providing immediate access to safe drinking water or providing the means to clean and treat existing water supplies.
Water education: Providing up-to-date information to remote communities to help them improve health outcomes independently.
Water infrastructure: We draw up a long-term action plans that will create water security and improve health outcomes.

Our Values

We believe that:

Access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation facilities are basic human rights
Education has the power to transform communities right around the globe
People in the developing world know best how to improve their lives

Our History and Team

WaterWorks was founded in 2007 in San Francisco by a trio of university graduates with combined skills in IT, international relations and marketing.

With assistance from the United Nations, we quickly built an action team in West Africa and began identifying remote areas of need.

We currently operate in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and employ 35 staff across the organization.

Our Impact

Since forming, WaterWorks has made long-term commitments to 50 communities, improving the lives of more than 20,000 people. Since 2012, our fundraising – and our impact – has roughly doubled each year.

And we’re just getting started.

Our Goals

Our aim is to have created long-term water security and safe sanitation facilities for 100,000 people by 2025.

In the coming years, we hope to expand our coverage to include more remote regions across West Africa, and to continue multiplying our impact.

How can you help?

Give a one-off contribution to WaterWorks and make an immediate impact on the ground.

Or sign up to give regularly and we’ll connect you with a specific community or communities so you can follow our progress more closely over a period of time.