Where We Work

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Where We Work

We work in 11 countries and counting…

We work in 11 countries on four continents. In Asia, we work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Our work in Africa spans from Kenya to Uganda and Tanzania. And in Latin America, we work in Mexico, Brazil and Peru.

In these countries – in urban communities, in rural villages, in homes and schools – this is where we're transforming lives. We’re scaling impact as we continue to assess new regions where our market-driven, financial approach can help change the lives of people in need.

Our solutions are market-driven

The water crisis looks different in different parts of the world. Our solution – small, affordable loans for water and sanitation – is adaptable to the countries where we work. Choosing those countries requires strategic consideration as we work toward the global goal of safe water and sanitation for all.

We pursue programs based on the following:

The need for access to safe water and improved sanitation in the area.
The potential effectiveness of a financial approach to solve the water crisis for people in the region.
The level of support of the utility infrastructure, economic demographics, and political environment for our work.

5.3 million people reached

16 partners

194,000 people reached

50,000 loans disbursed by our partners

1.7 million people reached

394,000 loans disbursed by our partners

16.6 million people reached

28 partners

3.4 million people reached

679,000 loans disbursed by our partners

6.4 million people reached

1.6 million loans disbursed by our partners

11,000 people reached

7 partners

3.4 million people reached

930,000 loans disbursed by our partners

5.4 million people reached

1,200,000 loans disbursed by our partners

104,000 people reached

9 partners

415,000 people reached

$18 million loans disbursed by our partners

Featured story

Queen of the hills

Joinab introduces herself as the “queen of the hills” and rightfully so as she has conquered her family’s water crisis high in the hills of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Featured story

Access to sanitation brings comfort and safety

Andrea lives in Brazil. She provides for her family’s necessities like food and shelter, but beyond those things, she has not been in a financial position to save enough money to improve her family’s sanitation situation. Read how a small, affordable loan changed this.

Featured story

Giving babies a healthy start with water

For Sophon, there was nothing beautiful about the water-related burdens she endured much of her life in rural Cambodia. She wanted to end those burdens for her son.

Featured story

It's time for school

Water makes time for school possible for kids in Rasulpur and around the world. When kids have access to safe water at home they can walk to school instead of walk to collect water.

Featured story

Mumina's family still has access to safe water

When she’s not sewing to support her family's income, Mumina gardens a small vegetable bed, launders clothing, and cares for her children. This life—time to sew, water for clean laundry and fresh food, Mumina’s happiness—it is made possible by access to safe water. Something Mumina has known for a few years now, but at one time, she thought was impossible.

Featured story

Leah's family has safe water at home now

Leah lives in a rural village about an hour from Nairobi. She was once one of the millions who rely on unimproved water sources to survive. Read her story.

Impact Story Coming Soon

Featured story

Nelly's heart

Water is a smart investment. The best investment the world can make to reduce disease, increase income, keep kids in school, and change lives. Nelly believed this to be true, and now she knows it for a fact. Thanks to Water.org’s smart solution known as WaterCredit, the hardworking, loving, single mom who wanted to give her family safe water and a better life was able to do it.

Featured story

Elma

Elma’s courage gave her the strength to choose smiles over tears, to choose love over pain, and to champion safe water for her family, even when the battle seemed impossible.

Featured story

Obwiri

When COVID-19 reached Obwiri’s community, she had increasing concerns about her family’s sanitation situation. Read about how a small loan empowered her to solve her family's water and sanitation crisis at a critical time.

Featured story

Health and hope are flowing

Namulondo is a hardworking health assistant at a local hospital and a loving single mom who has dedicated her life to caring for her children. A small, affordable loan helped Namulondo pay for a rain storage tank, providing her family with enough water for several months.

1.8 million People lack access to safe water

36 million People lack access to improved sanitation

1.2 million People lack access to safe water

20 million People lack access to improved sanitation

2 million People lack access to safe water

3 million People lack access to improved sanitation

91 million People lack access to safe water

229 million People lack access to improved sanitation

18 million People lack access to safe water

20 million People lack access to improved sanitation

15 million People lack access to safe water

22 million People lack access to improved sanitation

386,000 People lack access to safe water

1 million People lack access to improved sanitation

2 million People lack access to safe water

4 million People lack access to improved sanitation

3 million People lack access to safe water

7 million People lack access to improved sanitation

4 million People lack access to safe water

29 million People lack access to improved sanitation

7 million People lack access to safe water

28 million People lack access to improved sanitation

Bangladesh

Brazil

Cambodia

India

Indonesia

Kenya

Mexico

Peru

Philippines

Tanzania

Uganda

Scaling impact around the world

The progress of our programs and expansion varies in each of the countries where we work. From long-standing programs in India to exploring new regions in Latin America, here are some examples of where we've been and where we're headed.

Millions of lives changed in India

Since 2005, Water.org has played a significant role in India’s progress toward improved water, sanitation and hygiene. Here, we’ve scaled our impact to reaching more than 16 million people with access to safe water and sanitation through small, affordable loans.

Rapid growth in the Philippines

Just five years ago we expanded WaterCredit to the Philippines. Now we work with 40 financial institutions across the island country and to date we’ve reached more than 5 million people here. Our programs continue to scale impact.

New outreach in Brazil

As a result of market research, we found opportunity to bring our financial solutions to Brazil. In 2017 we certified our first lending partner and began piloting WaterCredit. We have since certified additional financial institutions and continue to expand our work in the region. Read about our plans for impact in Brazil.

Serving people living in poverty

Millions of the people where we work live on less than $3.73 a day yet spend significant portions of their income to buy water for their families. These are the people we serve.
Empowering people like Leneriza

Through Water.org's local financial partner in the Philippines, Leneriza took a small, affordable loan to install a water tap. No longer having to pay a vendor for water, she has more than $50 a month to support her family.
Read her story
Serving families like Lomitu’s

Lomitu paid in time and money to buy water for her family. This kept her from baking bread to sell at the local market. After a small loan empowered her with the funds needed to make a water connection at home—her finances and their lives changed.
See how Lomitu's life was changed

Expanding our reach and changing more lives

As we scale impact in 11 countries, we continue to assess new markets. We're working to increase financing for water and sanitation around the world to achieve our vision and help accomplish the global goal of safe water and sanitation for all.

$25 helps one family get access to safe water.

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We work in 11 countries and counting…

Our solutions are market-driven

Scaling impact around the world

Millions of lives changed in India

Rapid growth in the Philippines

New outreach in Brazil

Serving people living in poverty

Empowering people like Leneriza

Serving families like Lomitu’s

Expanding our reach and changing more lives