Bring Clean Water Wells to 6 Villages in India

The volunteers at the BridgIT Water Foundation want to express our profound gratitude to the contributors to the Year-End 2018 fundraising campaign for new water wells in rural Andhra Pradesh, India villages. The money raised has allowed BridgIT to build 5 new wells and provide fresh, clean water to about 5,000 people. Thank you!

Please review the excellent and extensive report attached to understand better the profound impact providing clean water to rural villages throughout the world can have. While this fundraiser focuses on wells in India, BridgIT is also working in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Nepal, and is currently conducting due diligence for projects in Tanzania, Malawi, and Myanmar.

The current set of villages was selected because of the scarcity of potable water for the villagers, and the high rates of illness from water-borne pathogens, particularly among children. When children and adults fall ill from drinking contaminated water, it exacerbates the condition of extreme poverty because people can't work and students can't attend school. Wells centrally located in the villages solve a multitude of problems for the people by reducing illnesses and freeing up hours per day that were previously spent searching for water – giving people more opportunities to work, raise family incomes, and escape the trap of poverty. Kids are to attend school more regularly, giving hope for a better life in the future. Many other villages throughout the developing world need the same opportunity, which is why BridgIT Water will continue to fundraise for more wells in various countries.

The partner report explains and illustrates the process of locating, drilling, and finishing the wells. There are links to a number of YouTube videos, and you can also find some links below. You can also view photos and videos from the celebrations held in each village that commemorate the completion of the well. There are a number of heartfelt testimonials from women in the village who previously had to endure the chore of walking kilometers to collect containers heavy with contaminated water. These wells have truly changed their lives. Thank you.

BridgIT Water’s partners extend the value of these wells by teaching the adults and children about water conservation, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). This is very important, because simple things like washing hands have not been a priority, and sanitation and hygiene reduce illness rates, with the same benefits as described above. Please check the link.

Thank you to the supporters of BridgIT Water for helping to bring safe, clean water to 5,000 people in these 5 Indian villages. This is an ongoing fundraiser, so please consider ongoing support for this cause. Please share this fundraiser with family, friends, colleagues, and social networks so together we can build more wells and help more people living in rural Indian villages.  

BridgIT Water plans to post a new crowdfunding campaign on GlobalGiving for an important well refurbishment project in rural Ethiopia. Please keep an eye out for updates.  Thanks for supporting the BridgIT Water Foundation's work.

Links:

• Mobile Rig Drills 400' Borehole for Village Well
• Village Kids Supervise Pump Installation Workers
• Health Worker Trains 3 Generations in Hygiene and Sanitation

• SPREAWS Report, Year-End 2018 BridgIT Fundraiser (PDF)
  

BridgIT Water Foundation is profoundly grateful to supporters of its 2018 Andhra Pradesh, India project. Thank you so much for your generous contributions to the Dalit village water wells that radically change the lives of these rural people. The 2018 year-end fundraising campaign was terrific since donations up to a total of $5,000 were matched, effectively doubling the impact of your contributions. BridgIT wants to provide a high return on your philanthropic investment by impacting a large number of people with cost-effective projects, and the match multiplies your return.

Funds raised on GlobalGiving in 3Q18 and 4Q18 will allow BridgIT to build 5 new wells in the Kadapa Region of Andhra Pradesh. Each well impacts about 1,500 people, so about 7,500 people will enjoy better health associated with the basic human right of safe, clean water. There are many other benefits to these wells including reducing the amount of time the village women spend on the chore of fetching water. Whereas before the wells, the women have to walk for miles to collect often contaminated water, a well in the village greatly reduces the time and energy spent on this task. This provides opportunitites for them to start or expand entrepreneurial businesses to augment household incomes and hopefully graduate from extreme poverty. Thank you for helping these people to help themselves.

BridgIT Water Foundation supporters in Australia and Denmark have also generously contributed to its work in India, and BridgIT plans to build 50 new wells in the Kadapa Region in 2019. BridgIT's NGO partners in India have recently identified about 3 dozen additional villages that need water wells, so we plan to continue this fundraising campaign into the next phase to meet the need. Your continuing support is greatly appreciated.

BridgIT is active in other developing nations, including a huge effort in Uganda, an ongoing campaign in Nepal, and a new project in Ethiopia's water-stressed Horn of Africa. In 2019 BridgIT will further evaluate a project in Myanmar. Thank you so much to BridgIT supporters, which allows us to address water needs in rural areas of the developing world.

Links:

• BridgIT's India projects page on its website
• BridgIT Water Foundation Home Page