OUR VISION

Lifewater Canada was founded by Jim Gehrels and Glenn Stronks on the certainty that all lives are of equal value in God's eyes and must be in our eyes too. We envision a world where no one suffers from unsafe water, where girls have equal access to education, and everyone is treated with dignity.

In this heartfelt video, Lynda Gehrels, President of Lifewater Canada, shares the story behind our mission and why access to safe water is a cause that cannot wait. What began with a personal “aha” moment has grown into a movement—rooted in sustainability, driven by compassion, and made possible by people like you. We invite you to watch and see how your support is saving lives!

OUR STRATEGY

We train and equip local, in-country teams to drill new wells and repair existing ones. Donors fund these projects while villages contribute a token amount of money and "sweat equity." Our teams train and equip a local Well Caretaker, and host Health and Hygiene workshops to help prevent water-related diseases.

We focus our work on Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya because these countries have a desperate need for safe water, their governments have limited capacity to respond, and there is a general lack of required equipment and trained workers. In addition, groundwater is readily accessible at a low cost, resulting in high project success rates and maximum impact for every dollar invested.

VILLAGE PARTICIPATION IS ESSENTIAL

In a normal marketplace, money must be exchanged before goods or services are provided. We have learned however, that if water wells are provided for free, there is very little village ownership and the well will not be maintained, leading it to break down more frequently.

For projects to be successful in the long-term, we have found that community members must be willing to work together, provide accommodations for the local Lifewater team while they are on-site, and give time, energy, and other resources towards the project.

Villagers perform maintenance, raise repair funds, and establish rules for issues such as:

When the pump should be locked and when water can be drawn (to guard against over-use and breakdown)
How users must contribute towards required pump repair work
Ensuring that women and children have easy and safe access to the well
Who will be the official Well Caretaker

DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Lifewater is guided by four key Development Goals:

The first two goals focus on ensuring people have a maximum 30-minute round-trip to gather safe water that is available year-round. The second two goals relate to community ownership of water projects and their commitment to long-term maintenance of these projects.

Click on each of the four Development Goals above to learn more about its significance and scoring, and to read stories explaining why we adopted it.

Operational Scorecard

HEALTH

GENDER EQUALITY

SUSTAINABILITY

AFFORDABILITY

1) Basic Water Availability Services

• Located within 1km of at least 90% of users

• Available year-round

• Usage of 150-600 people per well

2) Provide Safe, Drinkable Water

• Free of pathogenic bacteria

• Nitrate + Nitrite levels comparable to Canada

• No turbidity or objectionable taste

3) Actively Engage Communities

• Health and hygiene training

• Community involved in picking the well site

• Community participation (financial, labor, etc.)

• Facilities built on community land

• Dedication celebration (+ deed transfer in Liberia)

4) Plan for Long-Term Maintenance

• Trained project technician(s)

• Clear maintenance plan

• Strive for more than one community water source