Oregon Working for WASH

Briefing Prepared for ______

Improving Access to Clean Water Is at the Top of Americans’ Global Health Priorities

People in the state of OregonKentucky arearare leading the effort to solve the global safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenge. There are numerous faith-based, civic, and academic initiatives for WASH underway throughout the state. The top programs in the state include:

a)WaterAfrica, headquartered in Portland, raised over $1.4 millionto provide water, sanitation, and hygiene access to more than 28,000 people.

b)RA Brown Middle School in Hillsboroparticipated in the Thirst Project,which raised $50,000 for four wells in Swaziland and brought2,000 people clean drinking water.

c)Cedar Creek Church, located in Sherwood, hostedthe Running Water 5K in 2010 andraised over $167,000 for clean water projects in Zambia.

d)The Oregon City Rotary Club was awarded a grant from The Rotary Foundation to supply a Costa Rican village with water systems.

e)Portland-based Vibrant Village invested over $5 million in water programs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Other notable efforts include:

Rotary Clubs in Oregon

  • Rotary Club of Salem
  • Participated in the Clean Water Project in Haiti and built a gravity-fed water systemthat brought safe water to surrounding villages
  • Built wells in the Philippines thatprovidedcommunities with potable water
  • Rotary Club of Seaside
  • Traveled to Indonesia to build central storage bins for water and to present their plan to install a school toilet block for improving sanitation and hygiene in schools
  • Portland Pearl Rotary Club
  • Contributed $1,000 to a clean water project in Kenya that provided clean water to villagers
  • Rotary Club of Gold Beach
  • Raised $25,000 for clean water projects in Ghanaian schools and medical clinics

Faith-Based Organizations in Oregon

  • First Congregational United Church of Christ, Salem
  • Participated in the Water for Life event where members drink water instead of beverages and usethe money saved to fund clean water projects in Haiti, Kenya, and Honduras
  • South West Church, Portland
  • Youth members traveled to Hondurasto implement a water system thatprovided communities with running water
  • Multnomah Presbyterian Church, Portland
  • Provided funds that supported the construction offour wellsin a village in Zambia
  • Members have sponsored more than 45 children throughout Africa, providing themwith water, education, and food
  • First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Bend
  • Partnered with Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala to provide health house kits, which included a smokeless stove, water filter, and sanitary latrine
  • Woodburn Methodist Church, Woodburn
  • Donated its Easter collectionto provide clean water to Kenyans

Schools Universities in Oregon

  • Oregon State University – College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Faculty teaches courses on Water Science and Policy, Hydrology, and Water Resource Management, and WASH in developing regions
  • Faculty conducts research on a broad span of WASH topics including groundwater management, freshwater sustainability, hydrophilanthropy, WASH sustainability, Water Resources Management, Hydrogeology, and development
  • Oregon State University –Engineers Without Borders, Corvallis
  • Partnered with a Kenyan communitytobuild wells and a rainwater catchment system at the Lela Primary School
  • Oregon State University American Society of EngineersStudent Chapter
  • Traveled to Nicaragua tobuild a rainwater catchment system that brought clean water to approximately 400 residents
  • Portland State University –Engineers Without Borders, Portland
  • Partnered with the EWB Portland Main Professional chapter to construct latrines for a K-8 school in Ethiopia
  • Oregon Tech University –Engineers Without Borders, Klamath Falls
  • Implemented the Tanzania Clean Water Project and the Slow Sand Filter treatment system in rural Tanzania

WASH-Focused Organizations in Oregon

  • A Woman’s Worth, Inc., Beaverton
  • Conducts case studies of communities in Ethiopia to plan projects that address menstrual hygiene management andchange culturalbeliefs around menstruation
  • Institutional Stove Solutions (InStove), Cottage Grove
  • Developed an innovative water pasteurization system that uses the heat from their smokeless cooking stoves to decontaminate up to 800 liters of safe drinking water per hour
  • Water Africa, Lake Oswego
  • Raises awareness and funds for Zambia Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (ZWASH)
  • Hosts the annual Walk4Water that raises money for village water projects in Zambia
  • Vibrant Village, Portland
  • Implements projects that promote water quality and access as well as infrastructure
  • Invested over $5 million in water programs in Lain America, Africa, and Asia
  • The Ann Campana Judge Foundation, Corvallis
  • Funds philanthropic projects focused on potable water, sanitation, and health in developing countries
  • Was established to honor Ann CampanaJudget who was on board American Airlines Flight 77 on September 11, 2001

For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates:

202.293.4049   Updated: December 2015