UGANDAN WATER PROJECT INC
Today. Tomorrow. Forever.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Ugandan Water Project works to end the water crisis affecting millions of people in Uganda by alleviating suffering in communities that demonstrate acute water-related needs. Many of the people we serve have no access to a safely managed water source and must collect drinking water from highly contaminated lakes, rivers, or ditches. Others must walk extremely long distances to find water. We work in rural and peri-urban areas where the average income is $2.75 per person per day. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by this problem as they often bear the burden of walking miles each day carrying heavy jerry cans to gather water for their families. The time and effort it takes to collect this essential resource, combined with the high risk of contracting water-related illnesses that results from drinking contaminated water, drastically reduces the economic opportunities, educational outcomes, and health of women, men, and children.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Rainwater Collection Systems
A UWP rainwater collection system consists of a 10,000-liter polyethylene tank that’s placed on a cement base and connected to a building’s metal roof through a gutter system. As rainwater is harvested, people can collect it from the nearby tap stand we install, then purify it using the four hollow fiber membrane water filters we include with each of our rainwater collection systems.
Borehole Well Rehabilitation
A borehole well is a simple hand pump well that typically ranges from 100 ft. to 250 ft. deep. Even though this pumping system is the most common method of water delivery across Africa, the wells include so many moving parts and endure so much wear and tear that many fall into disrepair after only a few years of regular use. By bringing in our crew to disassemble the well, upgrade its hardware, repair what’s broken, and train community members to maintain it, we’re able to bring these wells back to life and prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
Sawyer Water Filters
Made using the same hollow fiber membrane technology found in dialysis machines, the water filters we distribute to schools, communities, and clinics can purify water from any source. These small and portable filters are powerful tools for making water safe to drink, with a lifespan of up to 10 years and a capacity to filter as many as 1,000,000 gallons of water in that time.
New Borehole Wells
In communities where dependable water sources are scarce, drilling a new borehole well is often the best way to provide safe and reliable drinking water. By tapping into groundwater that is trapped in aquifers often hundreds of feet below the earth’s surface, drilling a new borehole well is a higher risk, high-reward project that can provide years of abundant water to entire communities.
AquaTrust Borehole Well Maintenance Subscriptions
Charity-funded borehole well rehabilitations are paired with affordable, ongoing maintenance subscriptions paid by benefiting communities. This ensures that mechanically complex boreholes are properly maintained and repaired quickly in the event of a breakdown, providing long-term water security.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people receiving safe drinking water from community systems
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Adults, Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These numbers indicate the number of new people receiving clean drinking water at the time of installation of each of our products. They do not indicate the aggregate of the total of our work.
Number of water projects built
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Metric represents the total number of water projects funded in a fiscal year.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We provide safe water to Ugandans: today, tomorrow, forever. We leverage the transformative power of clean water to empower Ugandans using our synergistic, three-tiered approach:
Equipping communities with the safe water resources they need to thrive today
Developing sustainable water enterprises that keep clean water flowing tomorrow
Supporting the establishment of national systems that will ensure safe water flows forever
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Provide immediate water access today:
• Rainwater collection system installations
• Borehole well rehabilitations
• New borehole well drilling
• Solar powered water system installations
• Hand washing station installations
• Water filter distributions
• Water, sanitation, and hygiene training
Develop sustainable enterprises that keep clean water flowing tomorrow:
• AquaTrust: water infrastructure operation and maintenance
• AquaTrust Filters: high-performance water filter sales
Advocate for national systems that ensure safe water flows forever:
• National advocacy for sustainable operation and maintenance policies
• Participation in working groups that advise on sector policy development such as the UWASNET Good Governance Working Group
• District and National advocacy for uptake of a unified data system, mWater
• mWater data system training and consulting for NGOs and government teams
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
• Three-tiered – today, tomorrow, forever – approach to program implementation catalyzes innovation by generating actionable insights from multiple levels in the Ugandan water sector.
• Blending of philanthropic and market-based approaches allows for the incubation of Ugandan social enterprises during start-up and ensures operational stability as enterprises scale.
• Highly collaborative culture and integration with a broad network of WASH implementers and researchers injects fresh insights and opportunities to improve established programming.
• Team includes WASH and public health experts, engineers, data-system specialists, entrepreneurs, business administrators, community educators, and communication professionals with decades of collective experience spanning government, civil society, and the private sector.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As of January 2023, UWP has successfully funded and installed 1,285 major water projects, including 712 rainwater collection systems, 539 borehole well rehabilitations, 33 new borehole well installations, and 1 gravity fed system. We've also distributed hundreds of filtration systems in 2022 alone. Together, these projects have benefited more than 450,000 children, women, and men across Uganda since 2008.
In 2023, we are chairing the UWASNET Good Governance Working Group, providing training to five districts on the mWater management information system, continuing to grow our AquaTrust program, including expansion into a new district, planning to complete more than 300 water projects, and investing in our capacity to prepare for future growth.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
UGANDAN WATER PROJECT INC
Board of directorsas of 08/28/2023
James Harrington
Ugandan Water Project
Cherith Reynolds-Clark
Doug Coburn
James Harrington
John Conrad
Mark Colgan
Mark Jenkins
Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
Ryan Gammons
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/28/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.