Virginia Working for WASH
Briefing Prepared for ______
Improving Access to Clean Water Is at the Top of Americans’ Global Health Priorities
People in the state of Virginia are leading the effort to solve the global safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenge. There are numerous faith-based, civic, and academic initiatives for WASH underway throughout the state. The top programs in the state include:
a) ChildFund International in Richmond provided access to safe water and sanitation facilities to 19.7 million people in 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
b) Students in the Moncure Elementary School chorus, World Drum Group, and Ukulele Clubs raised $325 that supported the construction of a well at a South Sudan school.
c) H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program & Tuckahoe Elementary School in Arlington raised $8,800 to support a WASH project for Escuela Pescaderia in the Dominican Republic.
d) Southview Community Church in Herndon raised over $56,000 to provide clean water to 30 Compassion Child Development Centers in Rwanda.
e) Students in the University of Virginia (UVA) Engineers Without Borders Chapter collaborated with Piedmont Rotarians, the UVA School of Engineering, and local Cameroonians to construct a water filtration and distribution system that provided 50,000 people with clean water.
f) The Rotary Foundation provided $104,800 to Rotary District 7570 that supported projects that improve water supply and sanitation facilities in areas with Guinea worm and other waterborne illnesses.
Other notable efforts include:
Rotary Clubs in Virginia
· Rotary District 7610, Northern Virginia
o Sponsors an Annual Run/Walk for Water that funds the rehabilitation and installation of boreholes and latrines at seven schools in Zambia
· Rotary Club of Charlottesville
o Partnered with the Rotary Clubs of Blue Ridge and Albemarle to host a fundraising dinner and auction that supported the construction of a clean water system in Cameroon, benefitting 50,000 people
o Established a partnership with the Rotary Club of Bamenda in Cameroon that raised money for a water project that provided three water storage tanks, a piping system, and engaged town elders and local technicians in Cameroon on project labor and logistical support
o Sponsored the Virginia to Africa: Water Is Life Project that drilled a borehole and installed a solar water pump at a primary school in South Africa
· Rotary Club of Rocky Mount
o Awarded $70,000 from the Jubilee Clean Water Foundation that funded a clean water project in Ghana
o Dug and drilled new wells, repaired existing wells, and educated people about waterborne illnesses in communities suffering from Buruli Ulcer
· Danville After Hours Rotary Club
o Partners with Enactus Averett, a student group at Averett University, that designs and implements community empowerment projects around the globe
o Supports Enactus Averett fundraisers that purchased LifeStraw water purification straws for developing countries
· Rotary Club of Virginia Peninsula, Hampton-Newport News
o Awarded a $20,000 Rotary Foundation Matching Grant for a water project in Costa Rica
o Rotarians traveled to Costa Rica to install water purification stations at ten schools in Costa Rica, benefitting 7,000 children
· Rotary Club of Clarke County
o Partnered with the Rotary Foundation and six District 7570 Rotary Clubs to fund 50 wells and 50 latrines through the Bangladesh Water and Sanitation Project
o Raising $37,000 that will provide clean water, sanitation, medical training, and clinics for rural villages in Bangladesh
· Rotary Club of Linden
o Supports Rotary District 7570 clean water projects in Ghana and Bangladesh that train villagers on latrine and well maintenance
· Rotary Club of Winchester
o Supported Rotary District 7570’s clean water projects in Ghana that drilled boreholes, dug wells, installed mechanized water systems, repaired wells, and improved basic hygiene and sanitation
· Rotary Clubs of Reston and Fairfax
o Raised over $17,000 for a water and sanitation project that constructed a new toilet block and new water well in Monrovia, Liberia
Faith-Based Organizations in Virginia
· Vertical Church, Chesapeake
o Donates to charity:water projects each time a first or second-time guest attends a Vertical Church worship service
· Diocese of Arlington
o Provides funds to the Foundation for the Development of Azua, San Juan, and Elijas Piña (FUNDASEP) that brings improved sanitation and water services to parishes in the Dominican Republic
· One God Ministry, Fairfax
o Supports Save the Children water and sanitation projects in Ghana and is raising funds for future water projects
· Servants 4 Him, Hamilton
o Partners with the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) to train local churches and mission organizations in Guatemala on the use of biosand filters
· St. Paul’s Memorial Church, Charlottesville
o Sponsors the World Neighbors MABUTA Project to improve community access to health and water for over 8,000 people in six villages in Uganda
o Provided $6,000 for clean water facilities to the Privilege School in Kenya
· Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church, Appomattox
o Sponsored a mission trip to Guatemala that provided two villages with clean water
· Bread and Water for Africa, Alexandria
o Supports 5 clean water projects that increase access to clean water and educates people in Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Cameroon, and Kenya on the prevention of waterborne diseases
Schools Universities in Virginia
· Damascus Middle School, Damascus
o Raised funds that supported the construction of a new rainwater catchment tank at primary school in Kenya through H2O for Life
· Forest Park High School, Woodbridge
o Students in the Key Club raised $1,628 that supported the construction of latrines at a school in Nicaragua
· H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program & Tuckahoe Elementary School, Arlington
o Raised $998 that supported WASH projects and latrine construction at schools in India, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua
· Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg
o Members of the softball team raised $300 for a rainwater catchment tank, new latrines, and handwashing stations at a primary school in Kenya
· Salem High School, Salem
o Students in the Leadership Skills Development class raised $780 that supported the construction of a new well at a school in South Sudan
· Nansemond River High School, Suffolk
o Students in the Air Force JROTC program raised $1,315 to support the construction of a water well at a primary school in Uganda
o Raised $1,000 for a new water well at a school in South Sudan
· Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
o Students in the Global Health and Health Disparities Program (GH2DP) have partnered with the Ministry of Health and community leaders to deliver water filters to 150 households in 17 rural villages in Honduras
o Students in the Engineers Without Borders Chapter designed a water distribution system as part of a five-year partnership with a community in Bolivia
· University of Virginia (UVA), Charlottesville
o Students in the Global Water Brigades Chapter raised over $26,000 to implement a clean water system in Honduras and educate community members about system maintenance
o Dr. Rebecca Dillingham, an infectious disease and international health physician, and James Smith, a UVA civil and environmental engineer, co-led the PureMadi Project to provide ceramic water purification filters to 500,000 people each year in South Africa
o UVA’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers undergraduate research experiences through their WASH Scholars Program that lets undergraduates conduct research on water quality, malnutrition, and enteric diseases for the Water & Health in Limpopo Project
o Students in the Global Public Health Brigade traveled to Honduras to educate community members about sanitation and hygiene
· George Mason University – Engineers Without Borders, Fairfax
o Partnered with the University of Maryland Engineers Without Borders Chapter to construct a water storage tank in a rural community in Peru
WASH-Focused Organizations in Virginia
· ChildFund International, Richmond
o Constructed a water system at six schools in the Philippines that provided clean water to the students and teachers
o Constructed a water filtration system for a rural village in The Gambia to provide clean water
· The Virginia Hospital Center Medical Brigade, Arlington
o Provided clean drinking water to over 7,000 people in Honduras
o Facilitated the development of six potable water and sanitation projects that serve over 5,000 people in 12 villages in Honduras
· Medical Missionaries, Manassas
o Distributed water purification systems to 6,000 households in Haiti
o Established community health centers in four villages in Haiti that provided water purification supplies, fortified salt, medications, and disease prevention classes
· Charitable Child, Richmond
o Introduces children to poverty and other social issues and facilitates age-appropriate service projects for youth participants
o Raised $2,500 for a water well in a South Sudan school by hosting a Walk for Water fundraiser in which children carried water and gained an understanding of the challenges women and children in developing countries experience when accessing water
· Uganda Rural Fund, Richmond
o Partnered with Engineers Without Borders to design and implement a clean water distribution system and construct sanitation facilities for a school in Uganda
· Virginia Water Environment Association, Glen Allen
o Sponsors annual Water for People Herb Evans Memorial Golf Tournament that raises funds for Water for People sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene projects
· PureMadi, Earlysville
o Creates, tests, and implements technologies that improve water quality, human health, and quality of life for the world’s poorest communities
o Collaborates with communities to develop sustainable, community-led solutions to water and sanitation challenges
For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates:
202.293.4049 Updated December 2015