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'.