Nebraska 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 Nebraska are 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) The Lincoln Rotary Club raised nearly $20,000 for projects that included improving access to safe drinking water for impoverished citizens in Namibia, Guatemala, Zambia, and the Dominican Republic.
b) Students in the University of Nebraska’s Engineers Without Borders Chapter traveled to Madagascar to host workshops, install biosand filters, and assess a gravity-fed water system that directly benefits 4,000 community members.
c) Schoo Middle School’s H2O for Life club raised $1,000 that supported the drilling of a water well for a junior high school in Uganda.
d) Aqua Africa, a nonprofit founded by Omaha residents Buey Ray Tut, Buay Wiyual, and Jacob D. Khol, drilled sixteen wells in South Sudan to provide clean drinking water to over 24,000 people. Buey testified on the Impact of US Water Programs on Global Health before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations on August 1, 2013.
Other notable efforts include:
Rotary Clubs in Nebraska
· Southeast Nebraska Rotary District 5650
o Works with schools and community groups to raise awareness about how water and sanitation impact health and hunger issues in Zambia
o Funds Rotary Grants for international projects including toilets, water wells, and potable water systems in the Dominican Republic and Zambia
o Funded a clean water project in Niger that supplied 2,000 Niger villagers with a water pump, an electric generator, and a water storage tank
· Lincoln Rotary Club #14
o Rotarians on the World Fellowship and Community Service team implemented World Community Service Projects that increased access to safe drinking water in the Dominican Republic, Namibia, Zambia, and Guatemala
Faith-Based Organizations in Nebraska
· First Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln
o Partnered with the Evangelical-Presbyterian Church in Ghana to dig a well during its annual mission trip that increased water access for villagers
o Participates in the United Church of Christ’s One Great Hour of Sharing campaign that raises funds and provides emergency clean water, food, education, and healthcare relief for refugees and internally displaced persons
· Grace Community Church, Norfolk
o Partners with Living Water International to raise awareness about the global water crisis and to provide clean water to communities most in need
o Member Kate Mangels raised $3,400 to fund the installation of “Brooklyn’s Well” in a remote village of India in honor of her daughter’s birthday
o Twelve members traveled to Nicaragua to install a well and provide hygiene education to villagers in partnership with Living Water International
· Callaway United Methodist Church
o Partnered with its sister church in Nigeria to construct a school, clinic, and water well
o Members Ken Riegler, Ken Pitkin, and Jim Jenkins assessed the village and determined the feasibility of developing low-cost shallow wells to improve community water access during a two-week mission trip
· Journey Church, Gretna
o Partnered with Global Partners in Hope to raise over $192,000 for water and medical projects in Mali that benefit 30,000 people
Schools Universities in Nebraska
· Schoo Middle School, Lincoln
o Raised awareness of the global water crisis among students using the book A Long Walk to Water
o Raises funds through H2O for Life to support global safe drinking water projects for students in Uganda
· University of Nebraska – Engineers Without Borders, Lincoln
o Educated villagers about the benefits of biosand filters and established a community-led association that produces biosand filters for community homes and schools in Madagascar
o Work with community members to repair and maintain the community’s gravity-fed water system
· University of Nebraska Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute, Lincoln
o Increases knowledge and promotes innovative, sustainable solutions to water resource management and food security challenges in India, Brazil, China, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
WASH-Focused Organizations in Nebraska
· Aqua Africa, Omaha
o Founder Buey Tut met with South Sudanese leaders and experts on Capitol Hill for a special briefing session in 2014 that discussed water supply, sanitation, and hygiene conditions in South Sudan and their impact on the humanitarian crisis and long-term development
· Global Partners in Hope, Omaha
o Constructed 5 wells since 2012 that brought safe drinking water to over 40,000 villagers in Mali
o Trains villagers on well repair, maintenance, and monitoring and evaluation to promote long-term use and sustainability
o Sponsors Adopt a Village program in which schools, businesses, churches, youth, and college groups are adopting clean water access as a community service project
· Clinics In A Can, Omaha
o Founded by Omaha resident Dr. Joseph Dumba, the organization brings mobile clinics and water purification systems to villages in Haiti, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Philippines
· Engineers Without Borders Nebraska Professional Chapter
o Designed and constructed rainwater harvesting systems that provided safe drinking water to St. John Clinic and St. Kizito Primary School in Uganda
For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates:
202.293.4049 Updated: December 2015