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Programs to Support
Wells of Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian organization whose mission is to provide rural Ugandans access to safe, clean water through the installation or restoration of sustainable borehole water wells and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) educational programs. Thanks to our supporters, our wells are collectively serving more than 630,000 people
630 Wells Funded
Clean Water Wells Funded, each serving a community over 1,000.
100 Restored Wells
We have restored 100, of the 400 forgotten wells in Mityana.
80 Washing Stations
We initiated our COVID response in April 2020 installing 80 handwashing stations.
18.5k Bars of Soap
18,500 Large bars of soap delivered = 100,000 individual bars of soaps.
We Drill Wells
In February 2010, Wells of Life drilled its first well. After a modest beginning of delivering only 12 wells by 2013, drilling began to increase almost exponentially for our charity. By year-end 2019, we have drilled in excess of 500 wells, providing access to clean water for over half a million people in rural Uganda.
On a trip to Uganda, a Wells of Life representative asked more than 100 villagers if they have ever been sick with diarrhea or some other water borne disease. Every single person raised his or her hand in response. Shocked with sadness by the obviously apparent and prevalent need, Wells of Life is in the business of saving lives and providing quality of life to hundreds of thousands of Ugandans.
The need boggles the mind: The World Health Organization has projected that by 2025 half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. Our desire is to make a mark by impacting the need for clean water.
Your Financial Assistance in 2020 for Access to Clean Water:
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Provided up to 135,000 people in rural Uganda access to clean water
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Reduced the infant mortality rate by 50% minimum—saving the lives of more than 2,000 children under 5 years old
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Reduced the number of water-borne diseases by 95%
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Reduced the time it takes to “fetch” water, freeing time for entire families to return to their normal daily activities, with primary impact on women and girls
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Freed more time for children to go to school, especially girls
Operation Restoration
Did you know there are 400 forgotten wells in Mityana? With your help, we can restore all of them! As of January 2021, we have restored 100 forgotten wells.
Like a car, wells require regular maintenance, which is why Wells of Life makes it a priority to restore older wells, no matter who drilled them. Your gifts in 2020 contributed to the restoration of 70 wells, impacting the lives of up to 70,000 people in communities in Mityana.
In addition to a rehabilitated well, the community is also educated on how to maintain a fundraising process dedicated to well repair, and how to contact Wells of Life or a pump mechanic to ensure the rehabilitated well is restored within days!
These wells were not drilled by Wells of Life, but rather by the national government or other NGOs, some of them as long as a decade ago. Our wells are routinely surveyed and maintained to ensure their longevity.
Healthy School Community
We realized that while providing clean water we were performing life saving and life altering services, but there was still more we could do for our friends in rural Uganda. So, in 2019 we piloted our WASH program that we have since renamed our Healthy Village Program. The program requires intense education and takes 9 months to 1 year to implement.
Water: Access to clean, tested water that is located near the village center.
Sanitation: Educate on how to build and use latrines, ending Open Defecation and thus eliminating fecal contamination. Teach the community to maintain a sanitary “well-site” including fencing, clean jerry cans, and a clean water source area.
Hygiene: Educate and assist communities in building and using hand-washing stations, raised drying stations to dry dishes without ground contamination, and teach them how to use rubbish pits for burning contaminated rubbish. And… in 2020, we plan to provide reusable sanitary pads for girls in the schools we work with.
2019 Successes
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Implemented our pilot WASH / Healthy Village Project with 20 communities and 2 schools, therefore substantially improving the health and quality of life of 20,000 people in addition to the schools with a minimum of 200 students each.
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Ensured every household has its own latrine, thus eliminating “open defecation” making them ODF or Open Defecation Free, for which we received District certification.
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Taught 3000 households to build and use “hand washing stations” to prevent the spread of bacterial illnesses. Note: 47% of all cases of diarrhea are due to failure to wash hands.
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Taught 3000 households to build drying racks for dishes thereby preventing drying dishes on dirty mats.
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Taught 3000 households to construct rubbish pits to burn rubbish and maintain a clean area surrounding their homes.
COVID Response Team
When Uganda shut down all travel and operations, we knew our mission mattered now more than ever. Our team in Uganda worked to ensure we continued our mission to support those in need by working directly with government officials.
Wells of Life was recently classified as an “essential contractor” in Uganda and all pandemic- related travel restrictions have been waved for the Wells of Life truck. Not only can we deliver soap freely, we can now once again restore wells in communities with non-functional wells.
As we all know, proper hand-washing is essential for protection against spreading deadly viruses in Uganda. This Is why Wells of Life has made it part of our mission to deliver bars of soap to communities and hospitals in need!
In response to COVID-19 we delivered:
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Over 40,000 packages of soap to service over families in need. This would not be possible without you! Thank you!
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Thanks to your support, our Field Team in Uganda was able to purchase face shields to donate and deliver to Mityana General Hospital and to Mubende Regional Hospital, Uganda. Your donations continue give us the ammunition to fight on the front lines.
Take action against COVID, by donating below.
She for She: Empowering Girls & Education
Girls miss an average of 3 days of school every 3.5 weeks due to menstrual cycles.
Wells of Life is excited to announce that we are partnering with She for She, a Ugandan-based social enterprise, that provides sustainable menstrual kits to girls in rural areas.
Each kit will include:
- 6 Sustainable Menstrual Pads
- 2 Panties
- Bar of Soap
- Kit Bag (for discreet and safe keeping)
- Directions for Use
- Cleaning Instructions
Along with providing female students with Menstrual Kits, Wells of Life will also host an education session with male students to help reduce bullying girls about their natural cycle. We are excited to be able to provide girls with the same quality of education as boys.
She for She pads are reusable sanitary pads designed to provide superior hygiene protection and comfort for women and girls. She for She pads are made from already used textiles that provide effective protection for 12+ months, making them a cost-effective and eco- friendly solution. The products are produced by women in Uganda, and She for She hereby ensures training, good working conditions and wages for the women who produce the products. This works in tandem with Wells of Life's mission for clean water, allowing mothers who were previously spending hours gathering water, an opportunity to earn an income and learn a trade.
Along with our mission to provide clean water, our goal is to remove people from generational poverty, which means getting girls what they need to succeed in school and everyday life.
Sawyer Filters
To drill a well, our ground team in Uganda works with local government and village leaders to determine locations desperately in need. Our team of hydrologists will test the ground for water, then determine the best placement. However, what do we do when we meet villages who have no water beneath the surface?
Clean water is our mission, and Wells of Life will never turn their back on those in need of this basic human right.
Wells of Life is excited to share our Sawyer Filter Project. The Sawyer Filter is an all-in-one filter that can yield up to 540 gallons of clean water per day from any fresh water source. Sawyer water filters offer the highest level of filtration available today. The hollow fiber membranes are comprised of U-shaped micro tubes that allow water to enter to their core through tiny micro pores while trapping bacteria and protozoa on the outside. The high volume of these tubes creates a huge surface area, which results in a very high flow rate and less cleaning!
Sawyer filters are optimal for long-time use, so our friends can stay healthy for years to come. With better health, there will be less visits to the doctor and more financial security.
While Sawyer filters are great for areas that have no water underground, they are still no substitute for a well, as people are still burdened with the task of finding water. While this is not a permanent solution, it only empowers us to continue fighting for the basic human right of clean water. Every person should have access to clean, safe, drinking water.
