About Azusa for Clean Water
We are a faith-based group that is dedicated to raising money and awareness to support clean water organizations working in developing countries. We hope to inspire people to learn about the global water crisis and to commit to take action for the nearly 1 billion people in the world who lack access to clean and sustainable water sources.
About Lifewater International (continued) [Page 1, 2]
Why are their strategies important to understand?
- A holistic approach to poverty and development (including physical, social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual realms) recognizes that provision in only one of these areas is a truncated version of well-being, and ultimately, of the Gospel. Jesus addressed each one of these realms in his interactions during his ministry on earth. Following his example, a water development project must seek to address all areas of poverty as well.
- Working with in-country partner organizations - rather than coming in on one’s own as an organization - reflects humility and an understanding that there are a multitude of cultural factors that Lifewater can not adequately address without others who are part of that same culture.
- Utilizing participatory development methods empowers communities to take ownership of their own development, making it more sustainable, resists creating dependency on outside organizations, and brings communities together. Participatory methodologies often seek power reversals and aims to empower people who are generally overlooked in many societies (i.e. women, children, the elderly, the sick, minority cultures, etc).
How does Lifewater measure success?
Lifewater measures the success of its programs by looking for indicators of improvement in four strategic areas:- Community well-being improved through WASH: Increased access to water and sanitation facilities and newly acquired hygiene practices improve community health and well-being.
- Empowered communities: Engaged as project decision-makers, implementers, and evaluators, communities manage their own effective WASH programs.
- Spiritual transformation: Communities experience restored relationships between people, with God, and with their natural environment. They gain a greater sense of hope as local churches demonstrate the gospel in word and action.
- Partner capacity building: Lifewater’s in-country partners increase in their ability to implement holistic WASH projects through hands-on training programs, project management, mentoring, office and staff support, and external learning opportunities.
Where do they work?
Lifewater International has been working in over 40 countries around the world for over 25 years. Currently, they are implementing WASH programs in Central Asia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Southeast Asia.
What is their impact?
Over the course of Lifewater’s existence, they have helped about 2 million people obtain access to clean and safe water. For more specific stories and information about the number of wells or WASH programs within a specific region, please visit: http://www.lifewater.org/project-map. Lifewater is committed to good stewardship. It is one of the organization’s core values, and they strive to work with excellence, transparency, and accountability in everything that they do. Lifewater has a four-star rating on Charity Navigator, America's largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities. For more information on Lifewater’s financial record or to view their IRS form 990, please visit http://www.lifewater.org/financials.◆[Page 1, 2]
(The majority of information on this page is quoted directly from or paraphrased based on the content found at http://www.lifewater.org.)