While other water-based NGOs focus on building clean water infrastructure for communities, Bright Water Foundation (BWF)—from its beginning—had a clear mission to confront waterborne disease at the household level.
BWF was founded in 2014 as part of a three-year academic study in Kenya by Richard Blodgett which verified the reduction of waterborne disease through household water tests and simple chlorine treatment of drinking water.
In 2017, small-scale programs began in Nicaragua to sketch out a safe water curriculum that could scale-up the home education initiative to larger populations.
In 2019, the non-profit organization, World Joy Inc, introduced Bright Water to the Atiwa West District, Eastern Region, Ghana.
Having worked there since 2006, World Joy had established relations with government and traditional leaders there that BWF would need. A pilot effort began in order to test BWF’s education model in Ghana. It enjoyed welcome success.
An agreement set a path for Bright Water to continue working in Atiwa West as World Joy made ready to exit Ghana.
Since 2021, BWF has expanded its Safe Water Family initiative throughout Atiwa West, refining its model and materials, developing Safe Water Educator training programs, and implementing a mobile phone app for data collection and evaluation studies.
To date, Bright Water’s Safe Water Educators have reached more than 14,000 families. Household water quality has improved, episodes of diarrheal illness have decreased along with significant reductions in days lost from school or work.
Success in Ghana demonstrates that BWF’s “mission focus” on household education and at-home—or “point-of-use”—water disinfection significantly reduces waterborne disease.
Partner organizations have begun to emerge as BWF looks to scale-up and replicate its programs and methodologies in Ghana and other countries.
