water charities

Michelle2002

Hi can anyone advise me which water for developing countries charity is the best to donate to please?

I've been nominated to do the ice bucket challenge which I think is absolutely ridiculous, so out of protest for the water wastage that is going on, I am instead donating to a water charity

Thanks Michelle

Savvy_Sue

I'm not sure how you define 'best', but the one I think of first would be Water Aid.

Michelle2002

I suppose I mean the one that uses the most of your donation to actually fund projects, rather than funding fat salaries. I reviewed UNICEF and the first thing that came up on Google was the amount of money spent on wages

Savvy_Sue

But what was that amount as a percentage of total income?

My feeling is that you can't do what UNICEF does with a bunch of well-meaning volunteers. That's not to say I'd support them, and I believe that WaterAid sends out volunteers from the UK to help and advise on projects, according to their expertise. But even so, you NEED proper 'back office' systems to support them.

Michelle2002

Ok thanks. Is the government still matching all donations or has that finished now?

Savvy_Sue

I'm afraid I have no idea ...

SailorSam

It's not just Water Aid that have highly paid executives, it seems most charities are exactly the same. If possible i try to donate to local charities were most of their income goes into doing good work.

Michelle2002

I prefer to donate to small local charities too but for things like clean water, I dont think thats an option.

There are so many charities out there who are trying to help developing countries, its hard to know which one to choose

Fen1

Good for you, Michelle.

There are several water projects in Madagascar and Africa that use the Canzee Pump. It was developed by Richard Cansdale from Northumberland. The pumps are specifically designed to be easily made and maintained by local people.

http://akvopedia.org/wiki/Canzee_pump

I'm not sure if you can donate directly to the production of the Canzee Pump ( there are workshops in Madagascar that employ local people ), but you could certainly contact Mr. Cansdale.

Alternatively, look at HoverAid. They use hovercraft ( fab!!! ) to get to remote communities in Madagascar, and use the Canzee Pump in their sanitation projects.

Or, closer to home, you could donate to a British frog/amphibain charity. The loss of wetland habitat and water pollution is having a terrible impact on British wildlife and flora. Unfortuanately, Frogs don't get much attention because they're not exotic and beautiful like tigers and pandas.