Living Water International (LWI) is a faith-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that helps communities in developing countries to create sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (

WASH WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...

) programs in response to the global

water crisis Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is wher ...

.Moore, Mike, 2003, ''A World Without Walls: Freedom, Development, Free Trade and Global Governance'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, p. 81, .Horswell, Cindy, 2007-02-18
Clean water was driller's passion
''Houston Chronicle''. It is based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 17 countries. As of 2013, the organization had completed more than 14,100 water projects which included drilling new water wells, harvesting water, and the rehabilitation of non-working wells. Living Water was a founding member of the Millennium Water Alliance,Millennium Water Alliance Applauds Congressional Action on Water Supply Crisis
PR Newswire, 2004-02-02Sternlieb, Faith R. and Laituri, Melinda 2010-08,
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Indicators: Measuring Hydrophilanthropic Quality
", '' Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education'', 145, pp. 56. and is a member of the 58 Alliance, a coalition of Christian organizations united to help eliminate

extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

.Berkman, Jacob, 2011-07-05
A Christian Group Seeks to End Extreme Poverty
''The Chronicle of Philanthropy''.Hardin, Chet, 2011-06-23
To the extreme
''Colorado Springs Independent''. In 2006, Living Water became a key partner in the

Advent Conspiracy The Advent Conspiracy is an international movement whose stated purpose is to "bring a deeper meaning to Christmas" during the Christian season of Advent, which immediately precedes it. It was created in 2006 as a criticism of the sense of con ...

, a movement among Christian churches that calls members to give simpler but more thoughtful gifts that foster relationships, and then use the money they would have spent on expensive gifts to help the needy around the world.Karkabi, Barbara, 2007-12-23
What fewer gifts under the tree can mean
''Houston Chronicle''.Riley, Jennifer, 2007-12-12
Church Movement Aims to Restore 'Scandal' of Christmas
''Christian Post''.Gilbert, Virginia, 2009-12-18
For the Advent Conspiracy, true generosity is more about giving than spending
''St. Louis Beacon''.

History

In 1990, a group from Houston, Texas traveled to Kenya and saw the need for clean drinking water. They returned to Houston and founded a 501(c)3 non-profit. The organization equipped and trained a team of Kenyan drillers, and Living Water Kenya began operations the next year under the direction of a national board. One of the organization's co-founders, Harry Westmoreland Jr., worked in the seismic drilling industry. He first saw how important clean water was in 1989 when he visited a missionary who was having difficulty drilling a water well in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. In 1989 he invented a portable rig called the LS 100 that could be transported in the back of a pickup truck or in a small boat. The LS 100 can drill 100 feet through soft formations.

Operations

Westmoreland increased the LS 100 rig's drilling capacity in order to sink holes 200 and 300 feet through soft formations. Living Water uses larger traditional rigs to drill through rock formations. The countries Living Water operates in include

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, Mexico,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

.LWI provides clean cups of water
National Driller, 2002-02-01. Living Water's operations in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

have drilled boreholes and rehabilitated water systems. It received funding from the US government's

Overseas Private Investment Corporation The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID ...

(OPIC) agency which helped it to acquire extra drilling equipment for its Kenyan operations. OPIC provided Living Water with a $200,000 loan than enabled it to drill approximately 150 wells in Kenya in 2001, and a $500,000 loan in 2006. OPIC gave Living Water a $100,000 loan to in 2002 that was used to drill more than 200 wells in Ghana.Corey, Charles W., 2006-03-09
OPIC Funds Help Supply Kenyans with Potable Water
US Department of State. In addition to drilling wells and providing water access, Living Water helps communities adopt hygiene and sanitation practices such as hand-washing and making oral rehydration solution, which help communities utilize water to improve community health.Clean water, education saves babies' lives
, Mission Network News, 2011-20-05. Janji works with ''Living Water''.

References

External links

Living Water International
- official website
Charity review at the Better Business Bureau
{{charity Development charities based in the United States Charities based in Texas Religious organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1990 Water-related charities