 | |
| Formation | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Johan Kriek |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | Johannesburg |
| Location | |
Key people | Johan Kriek (founder, international director) |
| Website | www.globalwaterfoundation.org |
TheGlobal Water Foundation (GWF) is a non-profit organisation concerned with delivering clean water and sanitation to needy communities. Retired professionaltennis playerJohan Kriek founded the organisation in 2005 after attending meetings of theWorld Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa. The goals of the GWF echo theMillennium Development Goals established at the United Nations'Millennium Summit in September 2000.[1]
Headquartered inJohannesburg, South Africa, with offices inSarasota, Florida, andRaleigh, North Carolina, in the United States,[2] the GWF's goal is to raise public awareness, contribute technical assistance and fund programs to improve water quality and provide adequate sanitation in schools, rural areas and other communities across developing nations.
The Global Water Foundation was set up as acharitable trust with the exclusive purpose of the trust being to raise public awareness, provide technical assistance, support knowledge sharing, support technical innovation and research and facilitate the provision ofhumanitarian aid throughout the developing world, with the ultimate goal of providing safe, healthy,drinking water and adequatesanitation in areas where it is not available or where accessibility andwater supply have been compromised.[citation needed]
The GWF completed their first project in 2006 in theKamuli District in eastern Uganda. The GWF addressed grave water problems at the 983-student Ndolwa Parents School in the town of Budiope, northeast of the capital. The project was so successful that it quickly expanded outward from the school grounds and today serves the surrounding area of 15,000 people with clean water.
The GWF worked with skilled contractors and members of the community to drill aborehole and install a Mono Pumps Solar Pumping System. This self-contained system stores water in a 2,600 gallon holding tank and issolar-powered, providing maximum water output without relying on fuel that drives up costs. The funds needed to drill theborehole and install thesolar pump were approximately US$50,000.
To raise funds for this project, the GWF teamed up with the International Tennis Group (ITG) and theRotary Club of Naples to host an Ecuadorian Evening during the Association of Tennis ProfessionalsATP Challenger Series on 28 April 2007 at the Naples Tennis Club. Mayor ofManta Jorge Zambrano attended the event, which featured a dinner of Ecuadorian fare and live and silent auctions.[3]
The project is currently underway and expected to complete work by early 2008.
In addition to the GWF's Web site, the organisation opened aVirtual Education Center in the online communitySecond Life. TheVirtual Education Center showcases photos from the GWF's work in Uganda, as well as, important facts about water. The office is complete with a sitting area and free GWF T-shirts for visitors.[4]
Celebrities who have become ambassadors for the GWF include:[5][6][7]
