What is WaterCan?

WaterCan is an Ottawa-based registered Canadian charity dedicated to providing clean drinking water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people (see www.watercan.com). Working with local partner organizations in Eastern Africa, WaterCan supports small-scale, community driven projects that dramatically improve the quality of life of poor people living in rural and urban communities.

All projects are collaborative efforts that include input from WaterCan staff, African country-level advisors, indigenous Non-Government Organizations, and community members.  All projects are completed in communities that have, through community consultations, identified the lack of access to safe water supply as a major problem and have expressed commitment to finding local water and sanitation solutions. All projects are completed for long-term benefit and are sustainable at the community level.

Melanie and I first learned about WaterCan a few years back by attending one of their annual fundraising dinners.  These annual dinners are held at the historic Aberdeen Pavilion at Landsdown Park in Ottawa and feature  a “Buffet of Nations”.   Embassies and high commissions representing numerous countries offer delicious food from their respective homelands.  The evening also includes a silent and live auction and a 'Parade of Nations'. 

Welcome to my Blog

Hello everyone

As I am about to travel to Uganda, Africa as part of the 2012 WaterCan Study Tour, I am also excited to share this experience with my family and friends.  I consider this a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what life is like in Africa and how the efforts of WaterCan, a Canadian charity, are working to improve basic living conditions for some African people.  WaterCan helps African people have access to clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education. 

I am especially grateful to get the support from my wife, Melanie, to allow me to take some time away from our family to take part in this unique opportunity.  I am also thankful for the support I have received from the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority where I have been working to better understand and protect our local drinking water supplies for the last 7 years.

I am planning to write several blog entries throughout the duration of my trip so I can document and share my experiences and observations.  Before leaving on February 10th, I am also planning to provide some brief information about WaterCan and Uganda to help ‘set the stage’.

Any comments would be much appreciated.  To leave a comment all you have to do is click on the word 'comment' on the homepage of this blog, and then follow the instructions.


Lastly, a big 'Thanks' to Sean Crogie who helped me set up this blog!