Prior to 2010, two of our founders, Steve Krupa and Rick Miessau each made trips to Haiti with their churches to help with water supply and other projects. After the January 2010 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, Steve, Rick and fellow co-worker and WFSV founder Aimond Alexis compared notes. The earthquake exacerbated the need for clean water throughout the country. The village of Verrette was brought to their attention by one of the churches and together they visited the village to understand the situation and design and plan the construction of a water supply system. While there, they identified key issues in addition to the need for water:
⦁ Technical, water quality, and geotechnical data was not shared among the various agencies working in Haiti
⦁ Water supply assistance from the government was not available in Haiti
⦁ Many non-government organizations working in the area lack the water supply technical knowledge and expertise to plan and construct sustainable water supply projects
⦁ There was little or no education of the local population regarding hygiene practices to ensure water sources remain clean.
Working with other water resource professionals, Water for Small Villages was born. Our approach is to partner with established organizations in need of technical support to supply clean drinking water to a village, orphanage, clinic, or school.
Through 2015, all projects were located in Haiti. In 2016 the first project in Nepal was completed.