Living Water International
Encyclopedia
Living Water International (LWI) is a faith-based non-profit organization
that helps communities in developing countries acquire safe drinking water in response to the global water crisis
. It is based in Houston, Texas
, United States
. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 26 countries. As of 2008, the organization had drilled more than 6,500 wells serving an estimated 9.5 million people. LWI was a founding member of the Millennium Water Alliance, and is a member of the 58 Alliance, a coalition of Christian organizations united to help eliminate extreme poverty.
In 2006, LWI became a key partner in the Advent Conspiracy
, 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.
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
. 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.
, Guatemala
, Honduras
, India
, Panama
, Peru
, Brazil
, Haiti
, Mexico
, Ghana
, Angola
, Rwanda
, Uganda
, Sierra Leone
, Liberia
, Kenya
, Malawi
, Namibia
, Ethiopia
, and Central African Republic
.
LWI's operations in Kenya
have drilled boreholes and rehabilitated water systems. It received funding from the US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC) agency which helped it to acquire extra drilling equipment for its Kenyan operations. OPIC provided LWI 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 LWI a $100,000 dollar loan to in 2002 that was used to drill more than 200 wells in Ghana.
In addition to drilling wells and providing water access, LWI 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.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that helps communities in developing countries acquire safe drinking water in response to the global water crisis
Water crisis
Water crisis is a general term used to describe a situation where the available water within a region is less than the region's demand. The term has been used to describe the availability of potable water in a variety of regions by the United Nations and other world organizations...
. It is based in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in 1990 and currently operates in 26 countries. As of 2008, the organization had drilled more than 6,500 wells serving an estimated 9.5 million people. LWI was a founding member of the Millennium Water Alliance, and is a member of the 58 Alliance, a coalition of Christian organizations united to help eliminate extreme poverty.
In 2006, LWI became a key partner in the Advent Conspiracy
Advent conspiracy
The Advent Conspiracy is an international movement centered around bringing a deeper meaning to Christmas. The movement is characterized by its four founding principles: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All...
, 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.
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 LWI 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
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. 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. LWI uses larger traditional rigs to drill through rock formations. The countries LWI operates in include El SalvadorEl Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
.
LWI's operations in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
have drilled boreholes and rehabilitated water systems. It received funding from the US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is an independent agency of the United States Government that mobilizes U.S. private sector investment in new and emerging markets overseas in order to support both the sustainable economic development of those markets and the creation of American jobs...
(OPIC) agency which helped it to acquire extra drilling equipment for its Kenyan operations. OPIC provided LWI 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 LWI a $100,000 dollar loan to in 2002 that was used to drill more than 200 wells in Ghana.
In addition to drilling wells and providing water access, LWI 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.
External links
- Living Water International - official website
- Charity review at the Better Business Bureau