H20 for Life connects schools in the United States with schools in developing countries to complete WASH (WAter, Sanitation, andHygiene) in Schools projects.
A nonprofit, all-volunteer organization run by teachers, parents, and students, H20 for Life aims to help students build an allegiance to and an understanding of their partner school through curriculum and experiential learning while raising funds for WASH in Schools projects. 100 percent of contributions raised by schools goes directly to partner school projects. All overhead expenses are funded through in-kind donations and grants.
History
H2O for Life began in 2007 as an individual school project at Highview Middle School in New Brighton, Minnesota. The initial project goal was to raise $10,000 for a water project in the Kwa Kasolo area in Kenya, Africa, to provide water and sanitation to more than 2,000 residents. The 900 Highview Middle School students embraced the project and raised $13,000, far exceeding initial expectations and successfully funding the WASH project for the Kwa Kasolo community members.
Because of their great success, the eighth grade student committee leaders wanted to continue working with their partner community into their freshman year of high school. With the help of teacher volunteers, they adopted and funded the partner community’s Kathungu School project during their freshman year in high school. The commitment and enthusiasm of these young students inspired H20 for Life’s connection program.
