Lifetime Wells International

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Lifetime Wells International serves the people of Ghana and Tanzania by providing safe and clean sources of drinking water. Many of the communities that we serve are isolated and lack access to basic necessities, including a source of water free from contamination that can cause illness and death.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person),

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

Since our founding, the primary method utilized to deliver safe drinking water has been through drilling water wells and providing handpumps or mechanized pumps where conditions allow. Last year, we were approached by a water engineer in Ghana who had a list of communities with handpumps that had failed and needed remediation or replacement. At the end of 2021, our Board made the decision to fund a project assessing the condition of the handpump and borehole in each community. This project is currently underway and the preliminary results appear promising from a cost/benefit perspective. If the results hold, funding for the project could begin as early as this year. Success in this project could result in a significant change to our delivery model going forward.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

Our staff, Our board, Our funders,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

There are several ways in which our organization and our constituents have benefited from the feedback we have heard over the years. A primary example is the development of our current sustainability program, a major catalyst for this change was the input we received from the people we serve. The key component of a successful program is a means for the community to pay for maintenance and repairs. The methods to establish a fund for these expenses can vary and have varying levels of success. What works in one community, won't work in another. We have learned that they are the best gauge of which program will work best for their community and ensure its implementation. This results in awareness within the community of the costs to maintain a well and the ability for them to pay for them.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.),

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,