Global Water Foundation

The Global Water Foundation (GWF) is a non-profit organization established in 2005 by Johan Kriek, a retired professional tennis player. Kriek founded the organization after participating in meetings associated with the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, where discussions about global development and inequality helped focus attention on the lack of safe water and sanitation in many communities. The foundation is headquartered in Johannesburg and has also maintained offices in Sarasota, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. GWF was constituted as a charitable trust with a broad humanitarian and development mandate. Its stated purpose is not limited to constructing water infrastructure. The organization also seeks to raise public awareness, provide technical assistance, encourage knowledge sharing, support technical innovation and research, and facilitate humanitarian aid throughout the developing world. Its work is aligned in general terms with the water, sanitation, and development objectives associated with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals adopted at the 2000 Millennium Summit. The foundation's practical focus is on places where safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are unavailable, unreliable, or compromised. Its target settings include schools, rural districts, and other communities in developing countries. Rather than presenting water access solely as a charitable distribution issue, GWF's model combines fundraising, local participation, technical contractors, and appropriate infrastructure. Solar-powered pumping and water storage are examples of technologies described in connection with its early work, particularly where fuel-dependent systems would increase operating costs or reduce reliability. GWF's first documented project was completed in 2006 in Uganda's Kamuli District. The project addressed serious water problems at Ndolwa Parents School in Budiope, a school serving 983 students. A borehole and solar-powered pumping system were installed with assistance from contractors and community members. Water was stored in a 2,600-gallon tank. Although the initial intervention was centered on the school, the project subsequently expanded to benefit the surrounding area, described by the foundation as serving approximately 15,000 people. The reported cost of drilling the borehole and installing the solar pump was approximately US$50,000; this figure relates to that project and is not a current organizational financial disclosure. Fundraising and communications have been important parts of the GWF identity. In 2007, the organization worked with the International Tennis Group and the Rotary Club of Naples on an Ecuadorian-themed fundraising evening held during the ATP Challenger Series at the Naples Tennis Club. The event used a dinner, live auction, and silent auction to support water-related work. GWF also created a Virtual Education Center in the Second Life online community, using photographs from Uganda and educational information about water to broaden public engagement beyond conventional donor communications. The organization has drawn public support from figures associated with tennis and competitive swimming, including Amanda Beard, Jim Courier, Kevin Curren, Janet Evans, Brendan Hansen, Cullen Jones, Tara Kirk, Henri Leconte, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Aaron Peirsol, and Kate Ziegler, who were identified as ambassadors in the referenced material. Publicly available reference material provides substantial information about the foundation's mission and early projects, but does not establish its current operational scale, leadership, funding, or project portfolio. Those aspects therefore remain unspecified here.

The Global Water Foundation was established in 2005 by Johan Kriek, a retired professional tennis player. The foundation's origin is linked to Kriek's participation in World Economic Forum meetings in Cape Town, where global development concerns, including unequal access to basic services, informed the creation of a water-focused charitable organization. It was organized as a charitable trust rather than a commercial enterprise. GWF's stated remit encompasses several connected activities: raising public awareness of water and sanitation problems; providing technical assistance; supporting knowledge exchange; encouraging technical innovation and research; and facilitating humanitarian aid. Its ultimate objective is to help provide safe, healthy drinking water and adequate sanitation in communities where those services are unavailable or have been damaged or compromised. The organization's goals broadly echo the water and development aims associated with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals adopted at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. The foundation is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Reference material also identifies offices in Sarasota, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Its intended geographic scope is international, with an emphasis on developing countries and on communities such as schools and rural settlements where water infrastructure is inadequate. GWF's first documented field project took place in 2006 in the Kamuli District of eastern Uganda. At Ndolwa Parents School in Budiope, a community northeast of Uganda's capital, the foundation addressed severe water problems affecting a school of 983 students. Working with skilled contractors and local community members, it supported the drilling of a borehole and installation of a Mono Pumps solar pumping system. The self-contained installation used solar power and stored water in a 2,600-gallon tank. Solar operation was presented as a way to provide high water output without dependence on fuel, which can raise costs and complicate maintenance. The project was reported to have required approximately US$50,000 for drilling and installation. Its benefits later extended outside the school grounds to the surrounding area, described as a population of about 15,000 people. Fundraising for water projects drew on GWF's links with the international tennis community. On 28 April 2007, the foundation joined the International Tennis Group and the Rotary Club of Naples in staging an Ecuadorian Evening at the Naples Tennis Club during the ATP Challenger Series. The event included Ecuadorian food, a live auction, and a silent auction. Jorge Zambrano, identified in the reference material as mayor of Manta, Ecuador, attended. The event illustrates the foundation's use of sporting networks and public events to mobilize donations and attention. Awareness work extended into online spaces. In addition to its website, GWF created a Virtual Education Center in Second Life. The center displayed images from Uganda and provided facts about water, giving visitors an educational setting for learning about the foundation's mission and projects. The organization also publicized a group of celebrity ambassadors from tennis and swimming, including Amanda Beard, Jim Courier, Kevin Curren, Janet Evans, Brendan Hansen, Cullen Jones, Tara Kirk, Henri Leconte, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Aaron Peirsol, and Kate Ziegler. The available reference material documents GWF's founding, institutional purpose, early Uganda project, fundraising, and awareness activities. It does not provide reliable current information about the foundation's active programs, present leadership, annual budget, legal status beyond its charitable-trust description, or whether all listed offices and initiatives remain operational. Those matters are consequently left open rather than inferred.

• 2007

  Ecuadorian Evening fundraising event

  [1]Global Water Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  GWF, the International Tennis Group, and the Rotary Club of Naples held a fundraising dinner and auction at the Naples Tennis Club on 28 April during the ATP Challenger Series.

• 2006

  First documented project completed in Uganda

  [1]Global Water Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  GWF completed a borehole and solar pumping installation at Ndolwa Parents School in Uganda's Kamuli District, with reported benefits later extending to roughly 15,000 nearby residents.

• 2005

  Global Water Foundation established

  [1]Global Water Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Johan Kriek founded the foundation as a charitable organization focused on safe drinking water, sanitation, public awareness, technical assistance, and humanitarian support.

• Virtual Education Center launched in Second Life

  [1]Global Water Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation created an online educational space featuring material about water issues and photographs of its Uganda work.

A humanitarian and development organization that combines public awareness, technical expertise, fundraising, and locally implemented water infrastructure to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

• Water infrastructure · 2006

  Community clean-water projects

  GWF's documented field work includes projects designed to create or improve access to safe water for schools and surrounding communities. The Uganda project combined groundwater extraction, pumping, and storage rather than relying on a single point of distribution. The foundation's broader mandate also includes assistance in communities where existing water supplies have been compromised.

• Renewable-energy water systems · 2006

  Solar-powered pumping systems

  The Ndolwa Parents School project used a self-contained solar pumping system associated with Mono Pumps. Solar power was selected to provide water output without the fuel costs and supply dependence of conventional powered pumping. Water was held in a 2,600-gallon tank before distribution. No current product catalogue or standardized commercial offering is documented.

• Public awareness

  Water and sanitation education

  The foundation's awareness work includes educational information about water and sanitation, supported by online communications and a Second Life Virtual Education Center. The initiative used photographs from Uganda and explanatory water facts to connect infrastructure work with broader public understanding.

• 2007Ecuadorian Evening

  United States

  GWF partnered with the International Tennis Group and the Rotary Club of Naples on an Ecuadorian-themed dinner and auction at the Naples Tennis Club. It took place during the ATP Challenger Series and was intended to raise funds and attention for water projects.

  Outcome. The event is documented as a fundraising activity; the amount raised and subsequent allocation are not specified.

  Source
• Second Life Virtual Education Center

  International online audience

  GWF created an online educational venue in Second Life with water facts, photographs from Uganda, and branded visitor materials.

  Outcome. The available reference confirms the center's creation but does not report audience figures or longer-term results.

  Source

• 2006

  Use solar pumping for the Uganda water projectStrategy

  Background

  The foundation needed a water system for Ndolwa Parents School and the surrounding community in Kamuli District, where reliance on fuel-powered equipment could increase operating costs.

  Action taken

  GWF supported installation of a borehole, a solar-powered Mono Pumps system, and a 2,600-gallon storage tank with local community and contractor participation.

  Aftermath

  The project was reported as successful and later expanded beyond the school to serve the surrounding area. No independently verified long-term performance data is provided.

  Reported drilling and solar-pump installation cost. Approximately US$50,000 (2006 Uganda project)

  Source

1. 1Global Water Foundationen.wikipedia.org