Like so many great movements, H2O for life started small. In 2007 a group of students and Highview Middle School in Minnesota decided to raise money to fund a project in Kenya that would bring water to more than 2,000 people.

Now, H2O for Life is a nationwide organization dedicated to pairing United States schools with schools in third-world countries. The U.S. schools raise money to deliver one simple gift to their sister schools: clean water.

Cost of clean H2O

When students at Highview Middle School did their project in2007, they estimated they’d need $10,000 to provide clean water to the 2,000 people in Kenya. They raised $13,000.

The organization’s web site says “H20 for Life connects schools in the United States with schools in developing countries to complete WASH (WAter, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Schools projects.”

Help wanted

H2O for Life is a nonprofit, all-volunteer operation. It doesn’t get short-term loans for projects or use credit cards. It relies solely on donations, which the students are in charge of raising.

The H2O for life movement is still most prominent in Minnesota, but it is spreading out. One hundred percent of the donations raised by the program go directly to providing clean water and sanitation in countries such as Mozambique, Mali and Nicaragua.

Side curriculum

Besides raising money for their sister schools, students in the United States are educated about the culture and economy surrounding their fellow, yet far-off,  students.

According to the H2O for Life official web site:

U.S. students are studying global water crisis issues, and taking action to raise funds to support their partner schools. Established non-governmental organizations are planning and implementing projects in-country with the help of local communities. Once projects are completed our United States schools will receive photographs of their completed projects. Students have the opportunity to see the difference they have made.

Give money, give life

The H2O for Life web site says every 15 seconds a child dies because he or she does not have access to clean water. Every day because of unsafe water or lack of basic sanitation, 4,500 children die. Individuals can donate through the web site, H2OforLifeSchools.org.

Currently about 100 schools are participating in H2O for Life projects. Other schools that want to sign up can read all about the program at H2OforLifeSchools.org.

Quick Facts | H2O for Life:

• supports WASH (WAter, Sanitation, and Hygiene education) projects in needy schools around the world,
• is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization,
• provides global partnerships for schools in the U.S. to participate in service learning projects,
• gives students the opportunity to become educated about the global water crisis, and about a partner community in another part of the world,
• supports only projects planned and implemented by established non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities,
• has an excellent track-record of success—see our successful 2006-7 and 2007-8 partnerships here [link to list of 2006-7 and 2007-8 school partnerships]—and
• helps U.S. teachers and students make a difference one school at a time.