Water4 and World Vision Launch Initiative to Bring Sustainable Water Solutions to Over 1 Million People over Five Years

-- Water4More: High Tech/Low Tech Approach Will Bring Clean Water to Six Countries

-- On World Water Day March 22, Partnership Hosts NYC Film Screening of THIS IS NORMAL 

NEW YORK, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Globally, 780 million people struggle to survive each day without access to safe water. A large part of the world suffers water scarcity, not because of a physical lack of water, but because the people living there do not have the means to access the water that is directly beneath them. World Vision and Water4 have partnered to rapidly increase the number of people gaining access to safe water over a five-year period through interventions that utilize high-tech, low-tech and sustainable solutions.

With the Water4More Initiative, World Vision will provide in-country staff, water, hygiene and sanitation expertise and a partnership with the Desert Research Institute for satellite technology to help identify potential well locations and best methods to reach water. Water4's low-cost, innovative drilling technology greatly expands the reach into smaller communities. In addition, the model offers jobs and training to community members to maintain pumps and continue drilling new wells, creating a sustainable model and ongoing business opportunities for communities.

"Water4 is not only a global leader in affordable water solutions, but a global leader in their commitment to improve the quality of life of people in the remote areas of the world," said Paul Carey, executive director of corporations and foundations for World Vision.  "We could not be prouder to partner with Water4 to bring critically needed solutions to our water partnership, bringing hope to the vulnerable families and communities World Vision serves."

Kicking off the Water4More Initiative, Water4 and World Vision are marking World Water Day on Friday, March 22 with the New York premiere of the 20-minute water documentary THIS IS NORMAL, followed by a Q&A with a panel featuring Water4 co-founders Richard and Terri Greenly, THIS IS NORMAL director Derek Watson, World Vision's Lisa Bos and Toilets for People director Jason Kass.  The discussion will be moderated by New York Daily News film critic Joe Neumaier.

"World Water Day 2013 is officially the 'International Year of Water Cooperation,'" says Water4 Co-Founder Richard Greenly. "For the first time in history, the opportunity to eradicate the world's water crisis is within our grasp.  Water4, in cooperation with World Vision, has launched one of the largest humanitarian water well projects in the world, a 7000 well initiative in eight African countries.  It is through this cooperation that we will see clean water be made available to the bottom billion on planet earth, and within our lifetimes."                                                       

About Water4
Water4 is a 501(c)3 faith-based public charity headquartered in Oklahoma City, founded in 2008 with the mission of demonstrating the love of Jesus by providing at-risk, indigenous people access to clean water.  As the Water4 approach is implemented in impoverished areas, the economic impact is felt immediately, as water well-related jobs are created, fresh water sources are established and the health, welfare and education of local people is greatly improved.  Water4 is active in more than 15 countries and has helped more than a quarter million people gain access to clean water.  For more information on how you can help, please visit www.water4.org.

About World Vision

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.  For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press of follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews.

About Water4More Initiative

The Water4More Initiative will train and employ more than 250 people in developing communities, establish 60 entrepreneurs, provide 7,000 fresh water wells among 1,400 villages, and ultimately impact the lives of more than 1 million people over the next five years. By leveraging the strengths of both organizations, this collaboration will greatly reduce the cost of per beneficiary, drilling wells and boreholes for agricultural purposes as well as clean drinking water. The partnership will also develop sustainable business models that will allow communities to initiate and achieve continued access to clean water. 

About THIS IS NORMAL

Every morning nearly half of the world's population will wake up and walk 6km round trip on average to fetch water from open and contaminated sources. This drinking water attributes to waterborne-diseases that kill up to 2 million children every year. It is a crisis that hardly registers on the international agenda… This is normal… THIS IS NORMAL weaves together 3 stories: Dick Greenly a successful American-businessman; Petronella a mother of 8 in rural Zambia; and Jimmy Kamfwa a well-driller in Samfya, Zambia. Each is looking for a new life and finds it through a hand-drilled well on an island in the middle of Lake Bangweulu.

SOURCE World Vision