The WellBoring Foundation, Inc. was founded in February 2019 to give US citizens access to the mission of WellBoring (UK), which has been developing clean water supplies for Kenyan schools since 2011. The Foundation is independent but shares the objective of fundraising to support charitable grants for the purpose of developing sustainable clean water solutions for schools and surrounding communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

WellBoring (UK) has an excellent track record, having developed and installed sustainable well water sources for 60 schools through January 2019. This has improved school attendance and education, as well as health for the students and surrounding communities. At an average of 2,500 people per community served, this means over 130,000 people’s lives have been transformed by the simple fact of continued access to clean, community controlled water, delivered by a simple hand pump.

 

The founder of The WellBoring Foundation, Peter Johnson, visited Kenya in February 2018 to see the wells and well development operations first hand. Joining an oversight mission from WellBoring (UK) and a Rotary International Group which had recently raised over $80,000 toward 13 wells, he visited 8 schools which had had wells developed and installed, and 7 schools that were hopeful of the next installations. The enthusiasm of the students, teachers, and parents was incredibly gratifying, reinforcing the stunning impact of such a simple investment.

 

WellBoring (UK) describes their approach this way:

 

Working with leaders of local schools and communities, WellBoring’s activities include identifying potential sites, assessing the sustainability, stewardship and community impact, commissioning hydro-geological surveys, obtaining drilling equipment, purchasing pumps, funding piping and back-up services sometimes including electricity generators, training in maintenance, and raising funds for all the above. And we stay in touch with the schools and communities to ensure continued operation and sustainable development. 

 

WellBoring works directly with an established set of in-country contractors, with no intermediary agencies or government involvement. It has only two employees, in the country: a British project operations manager and qualified Kenyan water and soil engineer.  Like The WellBoring Foundation, all other WellBoring (UK) efforts are provided on a volunteer basis.

 

The WellBoring Foundation was organized for the explicit purpose of raising funds in the US for WellBoring (UK). It may legally do so exclusively, so long as it remains independently controlled, and will do so as long as, in the opinion of a majority of Directors of the Foundation, WellBoring (UK) is faithfully serving the mission of the Foundation.

 

In accordance with its Articles of Organization, the Foundation may include one, but not more than one representative of WellBoring (UK) on its Board of Directors. The Foundation will, in due course, invite one such member, but will always have a majority of its members independent of WellBoring (UK) representation.

 

WellBoring (UK) is a Registered Charity (Number 1142295) (the UK equivalent of a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable group); its financials and an activities summary are available at the Charity Commission for England and Wales website.​