Global Water Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Global Water Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water and sanitation to the world's neediest communities. Professional tennis player Johan Kriek
founded the organization in 2005 after attending meetings of the World Economic Forum
in Cape Town, South Africa. The goals of the Global Water Foundation echo the Millennium Development Goals
established at the United Nations
' Millennium Summit
in September 2000.
Headquartered in Johannesburg
, South Africa
, with offices in Sarasota, Florida
, and Raleigh, North Carolina
, in the United States
, the Global Water Foundation'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.
Tennis legends John McEnroe
, Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier
, and other sports superstars including Olympic swimmers Aaron Peirsol
, Janet Evans
, Kate Ziegler
and Tara Kirk
have pledged their support to serve as Clean Water Ambassadors to deliver the Global Water Foundation's message to a worldwide audience.
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 of humanitarian aid
throughout the developing world, with the ultimate goal of providing safe, healthy, drinking water
and adequate sanitation
in areas where it is not available or where accessibility and water supply
have been compromised.
The Global Water Foundation is in the service of humanity
: to help make the world a better place, a healthier place, a safer place and ultimately a place of peace and prosperity. All projects and programs funded by the Global Water Foundation have the same goal: to make the world a better place for all.
in eastern Uganda
. The Global Water Foundation 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 Global Water Foundation worked with skilled contractors and members of the community to drill a borehole
and install a Mono Pumps Solar Pumping System. This self-contained system stores water in a 2,600 gallon holding tank and is solar-powered, providing maximum water output without relying on fuel that drives up costs. The funds needed to drill the borehole
and install the solar pump were approximately $50,000 USD.
Currently, the Global Water Foundation is working with the Rotary International
to repair a broken pipeline in Manta, Ecuador. The pipeline was destroyed by an El Niño storm, leaving more than 1,700 children and families in the surrounding villages of San Juan, Santa Marianita, San Jose and San Ramon without regular access to clean water. Since the pipeline break, these villages receive clean water by truck once every two weeks at best.
To raise funds for this project, the Global Water Foundation teamed up with the International Tennis Group (ITG) and the Rotary Club of Naples to host an Ecuadorian Evening during the Association of Tennis Professionals ATP Challenger Series
on April 28, 2007 at the Naples Tennis Club. Mayor of Manta
Jorge Zambrano attended the event, which featured a dinner of Ecuadorian fare and live and silent auctions.
The project is currently underway and expected to complete work by early 2008.
and call to action from Johan Kriek
can be found on YouTube
. The Global Water Foundation is also reaching out younger audiences through popular social networking communities such as MySpace
and Facebook
.
In addition to the Global Water Foundation's Web site, the organization opened a Virtual Education Center in the online community Second Life
. The Virtual Education Center showcases photos from the Global Water Foundation's work in Uganda
, as well as, important facts about water. The office is complete with a sitting area and free Global Water Foundation t-shirts for visitors.
Johan Kriek
Johan Kriek is a South African American professional male tennis player and founder of the Global Water Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water to the world's neediest communities. Kriek has won two Australian Opens and has reached the semi-finals at the French...
founded the organization in 2005 after attending meetings of the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in Cape Town, South Africa. The goals of the Global Water Foundation echo the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
established at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Millennium Summit
Millennium Summit
The Millennium Summit was a meeting among many world leaders lasting three days from 6 September to 8 September 2000 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Its purpose was to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century. At this meeting, world leaders...
in September 2000.
Headquartered in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, with offices in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, and Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Global Water Foundation'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.
Tennis legends John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
, Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier
Jim Courier
James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...
, and other sports superstars including Olympic swimmers Aaron Peirsol
Aaron Peirsol
Aaron Wells Peirsol is a former American swimmer who specialized in the backstroke. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist . As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay...
, Janet Evans
Janet Evans
Janet Beth Evans is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.-Biography:...
, Kate Ziegler
Kate Ziegler
Kate Marie Ziegler is an American long-distance swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle ....
and Tara Kirk
Tara Kirk
Tara Kirk is a former American swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke and Olympic silver medalist. She is a former world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke ....
have pledged their support to serve as Clean Water Ambassadors to deliver the Global Water Foundation's message to a worldwide audience.
Overview
The Global Water Foundation was set up as a charitable trustCharitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
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 of humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
throughout the developing world, with the ultimate goal of providing safe, healthy, drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and adequate sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
in areas where it is not available or where accessibility and water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
have been compromised.
The Global Water Foundation is in the service of humanity
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
: to help make the world a better place, a healthier place, a safer place and ultimately a place of peace and prosperity. All projects and programs funded by the Global Water Foundation have the same goal: to make the world a better place for all.
Projects
The Global Water Foundation completed their first project in 2006 in the Kamuli DistrictKamuli District
Kamuli District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Kamuli.-Location:Kamuli District is bordered by Buyende Districtto the north, Luuka District to the east, Jinja District to the south and Kayunga District to the west...
in eastern 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...
. The Global Water Foundation 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 Global Water Foundation worked with skilled contractors and members of the community to drill a borehole
Borehole
A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...
and install a Mono Pumps Solar Pumping System. This self-contained system stores water in a 2,600 gallon holding tank and is solar-powered, providing maximum water output without relying on fuel that drives up costs. The funds needed to drill the borehole
Borehole
A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...
and install the solar pump were approximately $50,000 USD.
Currently, the Global Water Foundation is working with the Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
to repair a broken pipeline in Manta, Ecuador. The pipeline was destroyed by an El Niño storm, leaving more than 1,700 children and families in the surrounding villages of San Juan, Santa Marianita, San Jose and San Ramon without regular access to clean water. Since the pipeline break, these villages receive clean water by truck once every two weeks at best.
To raise funds for this project, the Global Water Foundation teamed up with the International Tennis Group (ITG) and the Rotary Club of Naples to host an Ecuadorian Evening during the Association of Tennis Professionals ATP Challenger Series
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
on April 28, 2007 at the Naples Tennis Club. Mayor of Manta
Manta
Manta is a mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is the second most populous city in the province, the fifth most populous in the country and, economically, the third most important city of Ecuador. Manta has existed since Pre-Columbian times. It was a trading post for the Mantas....
Jorge Zambrano attended the event, which featured a dinner of Ecuadorian fare and live and silent auctions.
The project is currently underway and expected to complete work by early 2008.
Awareness
The Global Water Foundation understands the need to raise public awareness of the importance of clean water. A public service announcementPublic service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
and call to action from Johan Kriek
Johan Kriek
Johan Kriek is a South African American professional male tennis player and founder of the Global Water Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water to the world's neediest communities. Kriek has won two Australian Opens and has reached the semi-finals at the French...
can be found on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The Global Water Foundation is also reaching out younger audiences through popular social networking communities such as MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
In addition to the Global Water Foundation's Web site, the organization opened a Virtual Education Center in the online community Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. The Virtual Education Center showcases photos from the Global Water Foundation's work in 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...
, as well as, important facts about water. The office is complete with a sitting area and free Global Water Foundation t-shirts for visitors.
Celebrity Ambassadors
- Amanda BeardAmanda BeardAmanda Ray Beard is an American swimmer and a seven-time Olympic medalist . She is a former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke ....
- Jim CourierJim CourierJames Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...
- Kevin CurrenKevin Curren----Kevin Melvyn Curren is a former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles.-Career:...
- Janet EvansJanet EvansJanet Beth Evans is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.-Biography:...
- Brendan HansenBrendan HansenBrendan Joseph Hansen is an American breaststroke swimmer and four-time Olympic medalist...
- Cullen JonesCullen JonesCullen Jones is an American freestyle sprint swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.-Early life:Born in the Bronx borough of New York City, Jones moved to Irvington, New Jersey while in elementary school...
- Tara KirkTara KirkTara Kirk is a former American swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke and Olympic silver medalist. She is a former world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke ....
- Henri LeConteHenri LeconteHenri Leconte is a former French professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991.-Biography and career:...
- John McEnroeJohn McEnroeJohn Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
- Martina Navratilova
- Aaron PeirsolAaron PeirsolAaron Wells Peirsol is a former American swimmer who specialized in the backstroke. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist . As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay...
- Kate ZieglerKate ZieglerKate Marie Ziegler is an American long-distance swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle ....
External links
- Global Water Foundation - Official Web site
- Global Water Foundation Drives Major School Project in Uganda with the Help of Olympians - World Olympians Association
- Going, Going Green - SI.com
- Aaron Peirsol signs on to help Global Water Foundation - Aaron-Peirsol.com
- Clean Water Ambassadors - Global Water Foundation official Web site