Water is Basic is a non-profit NGO that drills clean water wells in

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. The organization was founded in 2006 during a meeting of Sudanese church leaders, who decided that the local church's first steps after the signing of the

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on 9 January 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. The CPA was meant to end the Second Sudane ...

ought to be fulfilling physical needs. It is believed that between 50% and 60% of South Sudan's population has access to a better water source, such as a hand pump, a protected well, or - for a tiny minority - a piped water system Water is Basic is the largest clean water non-profit organization in South Sudan. Water is Basic completed its first well on June 28, 2008 and has since completed over 500 boreholes and repaired 75 others to working condition throughout states of Central and

Western Equatoria Western Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of . The state capital is Yambio. The state was divided into counties, each headed by a County Commissioner. Western Equatoria seceded from Sudan as part of the Republic of South Sud ...

and

Jonglei Jonglei State is a state of South Sudan with Bor as its centre of government and the biggest city. Jonglei state comprises nine counties: Bor, Akobo, Ayod, Uror, Duk, Nyirol, Pigi, Twic East, and Fangak. Jonglei State is the largest s ...

. Water is Basic was led by Bishop Elias Taban, founder of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church and recipient of the 2013 Clinton Global Citizen Award by the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

. The US branch of the charity is led by Steve Roese.Water Charity website, ''Abegi Well Renewal - South Sudan''
/ref> On March 10, 2014, Water is Basic and the Permanent Mission of South Sudan to the United Nations hosted an event, titled "Women and Water in South Sudan," as a contribution to the 58th

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gen ...

. In August 2014, Water is Basic leaders joined 91 other individuals and organizations - including former US government officials, members of the UK Parliament, and leaders of advocacy and humanitarian organizations - to sign a letter sent to South Sudan's President

Salva Kiir Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who is the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government ...

and former Vice President Dr.

Riek Machar Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the vice president of South Sudan on several occasions, most recently as the first vice president, since 2020. A member of the Nuer ethnic group ...

urging an end to the brutality between the government and opposition leaders. On June 4, 2017, the armed conflict in Yei River State officially ended; the charity was then able to continue their work at Abegi. The charity went on to help the community in the teaching of police officers.

Operations

Water is Fundamental owns and runs two drilling rigs in South Sudan, each managed by a separate crews. The decisions for where the wells are drilled are made by a union of local Water is Basic staff and local leadership. Irving Bible Church, a

non-denominational church Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally align ...

in Irving, Texas, raised $1.7 million for the initial costs of purchasing the rigs, then signed over the equipment to the leadership in South Sudan. By 2014, Water is Basic uplift to money and awareness around the United States by showing their self-produced documentary short film, "RU: Water is Life."

References

{{reflist Development charities based in the United States Foreign charities operating in South Sudan Water-related charities Charities based in Texas