1. What is Water For All?

Water For All, a nonprofit organisation based in Johannesburg, has provided access to clean water to hundreds of schools and communities throughout Africa since 2004. As part of Water For All's customised approach, the organisation works with local communities and in-country advisors to assess each school or community's water needs and determine which water technology is most appropriate. Water For All uses a range of technologies: solar pumps, hybrid pumps, wind pumps, hand pumps and filtration systems.

2. What countries does Water For All work in?

Together with its partners, Water For All has donated clean water technologies to schools and communities and initiated new water projects in 11 countries: South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia, Lesotho, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ethiopia. Expanding to new countries requires a significant investment both in terms of human and financial resources. In order to achieve economies of scale with each country program, a critical mass of funding designated for a particular country is required. Water For All welcomes suggestions for collaboration and will assess each opportunity on a case by case basis.

3. Does Water For All have offices in each country?

To keep overhead costs low, Water For All has staff in South Africa and Kenya. We form close partnerships in other countries with government agencies and NGOs with significant expertise and experience in the education, health, and water sectors. Water For All visits projects and its in-country partners frequently to identify areas in need and to evaluate potential recipients of water pumping and purification systems.

4. I know of a specific school, community, or region in need of clean drinking water in a country where Water For All is active. Can I make a recommendation?

With all recommendations, the community or school will need to request assistance from Water For All to ensure community ownership and long term sustainability. If the school or community is located in one of Water For All's 11 countries, information can be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Information could include: Location of the school or community including GPS coordinates, if available
Population of the community or size of school
Contact person
Current water source (river, hand pump, no water source, etc.) and the condition of the source
Existence of a borehole and if so, details of the borehole (depth, condition, etc.)
Names of other NGOs working in the area

5. How does Water For All choose the communities and schools it assists?

• The size of the school or community. The preference is to serve the largest population possible but a solution can be customized to meet the needs of smaller schools and communities as well.
• The presence of a water committee in the community or school or a desire to set up a similar leadership structure to ensure the proper care and distribution of the water source.
• A local NGO or partner organization working in the area that can assist with aspects of the program or provide services that complement the new water source (sanitation services, nutrition program, health and hygiene training, etc.).
• The existence of a borehole with a non-working pump that can be rehabilitated. Where no borehole exists, a commitment from a project partner to drill a borehole to our specifications.

6. How many pumps have been installed?

To date, more than 1,000 pumps and 3,000 water filters have been donated to rural and peri-urban communities in sub-Saharan Africa, improving the health and wellbeing of many thousands of people.

7. Who are some of Water For All's donors?

Since the organization began work in 2004, Water For All has enjoyed the generous support of a wide range of donors including individuals, schools, clubs, faith-based organisations, foundations, corporations, and donor governments. Donors have helped the organisation work in new countries and have provided essential capacity-building support for sustained growth. Well-known donors include: U.S. Agency for International Development, The Coca-Cola Company, and Virgin Atlantic.
For a complete list of our donors and other partners, click here.

8. What are the levels of sponsorship?

The costs associated with the donation of a Water For All solution varies depending on the type of pump, purifier, or filtration system and the location. The solutions highlighted on our website and in our materials and suggested donation amounts are based on the average costs in the countries where we work. Sponsorship levels, for example, range from 10 USD for a LifeStraw® personal filter to 14,000 USD for the Fun Pump or Sun Pump.

Pump sponsorship packages typically include the following:

• Site and Borehole Qualification (site visits, water quality testing, water quantity testing, community orientation and acceptance)
• Equipment (pump and supplemental equipment, above ground and underground piping and wiring, tank and tank stand, tap, and donor plaque)
• Installation (warehousing, transport of pump to a designated country, transport of pump within the designated country, system installation, and installation inspection)

9. How much of my donation is spent on administrative or organisation costs?

Water is a precious resource. So, too, is the financial support we receive. Water For All is committed to managing our financial resources with full accountability and transparency. We carefully monitor every expenditure on our projects as well as the quality of our partners' work, and provide accounting reports of each project to funders upon request and annually.
Water For All prides itself in keeping overhead costs low: 88 cents of each dollar supports water projects and only 12 cents is used for organisational operating costs.
As is common, sponsorship levels are based on average costs across the African continent. Water For All provides highly tailored solutions to diverse communities. If we implement a water project for less than the projected cost, excess funds are used for future or additional projects where costs may be higher.

10. Are there other sponsorship opportunities?

To help reinforce the benefits of clean water, Water For All seeks sponsors of public service messages that are integrated with the different water technologies as appropriate. Storage tanks, for example, are decorated with public service messages about hand washing, sanitation, and disease prevention.

11. Are contributions to Water For All tax deductible for U.S. citizens and entities?

Water For All is a registered nonprofit organisation in South Africa and accepts donation from supporters worldwide. Unfortunately, donations to foreign charities are not tax deductible under U.S. law. A wide range of supporters from the United States, Europe and Africa choose to support our work, knowing that their donations are being put to use in an effective and transparent manner. Our largest donor to date is the U.S Government's Agency for International Development (USAID). Click here to view a list of our past and present donors.

12. Are there volunteer opportunities with Water For All?

Job creation and capacity building at the community level is critical to the success of Water For All. With that in mind, we do not use volunteers for the installation and maintenance of the water solutions as the preference is to employ people from within each country to carry out the work. From time to time, Water For All has opportunities for volunteers at the headquarters in Johannesburg. Those opportunities will be posted on the Water For All website if available.

13. What kind of water pumping technologies does Water For All use?

There is no "one size fits all" solution to Africa’s water crisis. Water For All assesses each beneficiary community and collectively decides which technology is the most appropriate solution for that particular setting. Water technologies include solar pumps, hybrid pumps, wind pumps, hand pumps and filtration systems. Water For All continually re-evaluates water technology offerings and seeks out new and innovative solutions.

14. How does Water For All determine what water pump is most appropriate for a community?

Water For All considers factors such as borehole (well) depths, the quantity of water that a borehole (well) will yield, weather conditions, population size, proximity to schools, and community engagement. We then offer a recommendation and work with community and school leaders to make the final determination.

15. What is a borehole?

A borehole is a deep hole drilled into the ground and encased in order to extract water from below the earth's surface. The cost of drilling a borehole varies across Africa.

16. What are the posters on the sides of the water storage tanks?

The public service messages provide positive reinforcement of important health messages in a fun, easy-to-read format. The engaging visual messages are designed for illiterate or semi-literate communities and can be customised depending on the country or area for both language and content. Donors are recognised on the message boards as well.

17. Who does Water For All buy the pumps from? 

Water For All sources pumps from a variety of manufacturers both internationally and within Africa. Mono Pumps, one of the world’s leading suppliers of solar pumps, is one of our major partners.

18. Who maintains the pumps?

Water For All makes every effort to source pumps that are low maintenance. For example, solar pumps operate without human interaction, so they don’t have the same daily wear and tear as manual pumps.  Because leaky taps and other minor issues do need attention from time to time, Water For All launched the “Pump Minders” programme to help ensure that schools and communities have a safe and efficient water supply.  The community nominates two local residents, who help install the pump and are trained in minor repairs by Water For All’s installation foreman.  Water For All provides each community with a Pump Minders kit, which has enough tools and parts to replace a tap, leaking pipe or connector. If communities encounter a problem with a pump that they are unable to solve on their own, they can contact Water For All’s local representative or partner organisation for help.