Agua Para La Vida
Mission
Agua Para La Vida is a non-governmental organization which has been helping small rural communities in Nicaragua construct their own drinking water systems since 1987. Originally a California-based group that provided technical assistance, support and volunteers working directly with the Nicaraguan communities, it now supports the development of a local team of technicians capable of taking over all aspects of the work: selection of projects, design, collaboration with and training of the beneficiaries, supervision of the construction, maintenance and hygiene education, and ultimately the ability to secure its own funding.
Ruling year
1995
Director
Charlie Huizenga
Main address
2311 Webster St
Berkeley, CA 94705 USA
EIN
94-3122845
NTEE code
International Development, Relief Services (Q30)
Natural Resource Conservation and Protection (C30)
Vocational Technical (B30)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and its rural population, like that of many other developing nations, suffers from contaminated water supplies. Current estimates are that 50% of rural Nicaraguans do not have access to safe drinking water. Although much of Nicaragua is either hilly or mountainous and relatively rich in small springs, the impoverished Nicaraguan government lacks the resources to institute an effective rural program to construct drinking water systems. There is wide agreement among inhabitants, government planners, health workers, and development organizations that the construction of safe drinking water systems is the top development priority. APLV works in the Río Blanco region and is the only active organization providing assistance to rural communities for drinking water systems.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Clean Drinking Water
Since 1987, Agua Para La Vida has been helping rural Nicaraguan communities build their own drinking water and sanitation systems.
Watershed Conservation
For its size Nicaragua is incredibly rich in biological diversity. It remains among one of the most biologically rich regions on the planet. Once host to 9,000 different species of trees and plants, Nicaragua has lost approximately fifty percent of its forest cover since 1950. This deforestation, a result of clearing the land for agriculture as well as logging, has had a profound effect on the quality and quantity of water available for drinking. Typically, land owners burn their land seasonally to keep the tropical flora from growing and competing with planted beans and corn, or grass for grazing cattle. The result is a loss of nutrients, a loss of soil stability (landslides are seen all over the Nicaraguan landscape), and a loss of diversity of both plants and animals. Cattle are a major source of income for rural Nicaraguans. However, these animals wade into streams and springs, destroy stream banks, erode the watershed soils, and contaminate the water with their waste.
Each APLV project has a micro-watershed protection component, including reforestation near the spring, protection of the spring, cooperative agreements with nearby landowners and land users, and education for all about the importance of protecting the watershed.
Technical Training School
cornerstone of APLV's sustainability program. APLV Nicaragua trains its own water technicians, turning out a new class of eight or so local experts every two years or so. These technicians come from rural, agricultural areas all over Nicaragua. They grew up in the same kinds of villages that they'll be developing water systems for, and lived the life of the communities where they serve.
Community Health and Hygiene Education
Our health team works with all of the APLV communities to provide lectures, workshops, and children’s games that promote health and hygiene. Their work includes school programs, adult programs, and house visits with each family.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
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
Related Program
Clean Drinking Water
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people receiving access to sanitation systems
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Community Health and Hygiene Education
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn 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?
- To help small, rural communities of Nicaragua develop and maintain access to safe drinking water
- To preserve and protect the watersheds that provide water to these communities
- To educate these communities about health and hygiene so that they achieve the full benefit from their safe drinking water
- To provide training and education in all aspects of designing, building, and maintaining drinking water systems in order to achieve local autonomy in rural drinking water development
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Community-driven Process: Every APLV project begins with a formal, written request from the community. That request is followed up by the community providing various technical information over months on source water flow and related topics, and the community must form a water committee to organize the project.
Project Technical Leadership and Oversight: During the application phase, APLV provides technical and community organization support to the community. Once the project is approved and funded, APLV provides technical leadership, community health workers and organizers, and construction experts to help it to completion.
Sustainability: Because the community builds the water system, and because the community committee overseeing it is trained in ongoing maintenance, water projects can continue in successful operation indefinitely, even without the monitoring and support that APLV provides over the years. An average committee will maintain and repair water system issues with no involvement by APLV.
Built by the Community: The community provides all of the manual labor for the actual water project and for the building of latrines. Each family commits to between 50 and 150 person-days of work on the project, an amazing commitment.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
- Strong community-based leadership
- Solid technical and engineering skills
- Dedication to sustainable development
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 1987, Agua Para La VIda has brought clean water and improved health to over 30,000 people in over 90 communities and has trained more than 25 technicians in our 2 year technical training school.
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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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Agua Para La Vida
Board of directorsas of 08/03/2023
Joe Ramrath
Bill Mc Queeney
Charlie Huizenga
Bruce Britton
Tom Cunningham
Joe Ramrath
Amy Luers
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
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
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