Yasuni National Park is one of the world's leading biodiverse systems in the Amazon Rainforest. The Kichwa people are trying to preserve both their land and their ways through ecotourism. By bringing clean water filters to the community and the ecolodge can save and eliminate the need for buying bottled water and reduce plastic waste.

Although Tulum is a major tourist destination, situated 1.5 hrs south of Cancun, just minutes away from the luxury 5-mile strip of hotels, shops and restaurants local residents lack clean drinking water. Many decades ago, the Mayans who are indigenous to this region used to drink water from the underground cenotes that can be found all around the peninsula. But today with population tourist boom even the cenotes are being polluted and the water that is piped into homes and public facilities, such as schools is not potable. The Waterbearers led an international delegation of women team leaders to Mexico and partnered with Life Source Retreats to provide a demonstration of the clean water system to a Mayan community, where filters were distributed to 3 generations of women in surrounding villages. In Tulum, the team visited School Ford 198 to educate 400 children ages 5-13 about the importance of drinking safe clean water.

As part of a humanitarian effort for the UN-sanctioned World Water Day (March 22), The Waterbearers Co-Founders Erin Toppenberg and Jane Brinton traveled with Christian Troy, Executive Director of Waves For Water to provide 100 filter systems and sustainability training to those looking for a simple economic solution to keep their drinking water safe (in Hawaii). Filters being donated were part of The Waterbearers fundraising efforts during the past year.

In May 2017, The Waterbearers Co-Founders Erin Toppenberg and Jane Brinton with Travel Team Leader Ophelia Ramirez led a service trip to the poorest country in Central America, the land of lakes and volcanoes, and people in need to clean water. This trip could not have been possible without Karyn, Vanessa, Cindy, Karyn, Rebecca, Julie, Jackson, Lori, and Philip. Each member of the group fundraised to provide the 48 filters that were delivered to our hosts El Coco Loco and their foundation Waves of Hope. In Chinandega we went to two elementary schools were large water tanks were installed in the classrooms. We heard from students who had graduated from the local high school and listened to community leaders tell us of their water concerns. In Managua, we visited the Fyera Foundation’s Sunflower Kids, an after-school program developed by Waterbearer and Fyera Founder Sheva Carr.

The Achuar is an indigenous ethnic group whose 1.7 million-acre territory spans two provinces – Pastaza and Morona Santiago.  Today they number approximately 7,000 divided into 70 communities.  Though they traditionally lived a nomadic life and had no contact with the world outside their territory until the 1960s, by the 1990s they had organized into a self-governing body, the Achuar Nationality of Ecuador (NAE).

The Waterbearers Co-Founder Jane Brinton together with Andres Morales traveled to Puerto Rico from Ecuador in April 2018, 7 months after the island was hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Since the disaster, we have provided 150 filters to the Black Flag Search and Rescue team. Additional Sawyer filters were donated through other organizations to be distributed to some 20,000 people still without water and power. We joined Jana Stone, Eddie Guárico Aviles, and Alex Cohen who continue to volunteer to try to reach as many people still without aid.

An estimated 15% of Ecuador’s rural populations rely on surface water that may be contaminated with pathogens and bacteria. Reaching some of these isolated communities makes it difficult and costly to implement safe water and hygiene practices. The use of bottled water is costly for a family to maintain, and produces unwanted plastic waste. More than 300 families were trained in the efficiency and use of water resources in Ecuador, and 105 filters were distributed to the inhabitants of the communities of Chamanga, Pedro Carbo, San Jacinto in Esmeraldas; Chonta, Cucuy, Muchique, Dominguillo in the province of Manabí, Ahuano, Napo, Capirona and Sindy in the province of Napo were trained and made aware about the correct use of water in productive activities, and for human consumption.

In December 2017, Waterbearers Erin Toppenberg and Shelley Greenwald traveled to Mae Sot with their families to deliver clean water bring 7 filters. Shelley returned with her two teenage daughters, Kylie, and Morgan in June 2018 and delivered 60 filters and buckets. They visited 11 locations demonstrating the filter system, a community and 2 schools in rural Pho Phra, 3 Burmese migrant schools in Mae Sot, and 5 monastic schools in Myanmar.

Spryte Loriano has been coming to Liberia since 2013 and lived in Monrovia for a year before the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which forced her decision to return home to the US. But, her love for the country and the people continue to draw her back and she has become an advocate for clean water rights and the empowerment of young girls. In 2017, she returned with The Waterbearers Travel Team Leaders Shelley Greenwald, Kathy Steele and Ophelia Ramirez to deliver clean water filters and training to villages outside of Buchanan. Now Waterbearer Ambassador Audrey Kissik visits Liberia bringing in more filters and provides training.

Since 2017, The Waterbearers have responded each year providing filters and solar lanterns along with education on water and hygiene to those evacuated during flooding and living in the low lands. Eight percent of all the rain in Nepal comes during the monsoon season typically lasting from June to September, when millions of people across Nepal, India, and Bangladesh are displaced annually. In the lowlands of southern Nepal, the relentless monsoon rains can claim hundreds of lives.

The Waterbearers has been working in partnership with The Village Link since 2017 following the mudslide in Freetown that killed 1000 people. Through this partnership we were able to impact 10,000 people by installing clean water filter systems in the refugee camps, halting the spread of cholera and typhoid. Like so many places in Africa, the need for clean water is great, but for isolated communities who lack access to clean water, sanitation or electricity, life can be harsh. We saw desperate mothers and children forced to drink contaminated water that made them vomit. Rusty old pumps, either not working or delivering contaminated water making children sick.

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the capital of Harare experienced severe water shortages due to recurring droughts and failure to treat the little tap water that was available, forcing residents to collect water from unsafe sources and overcrowded boreholes. This was the situation when Precious Nyadongo, representing a group of 50 Zimbabwean women called Sister to Sister, reached out to The Waterbearers partner Fyera Foundation seeking funding help to complete a borehole project in her village. Of course, we were thrilled to help and fortunate to have funds available from our World Water Day fundraising campaign that could be allocated to this worthwhile project.