Water is Basic

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Water is Basic

Water is Basic catalyzes local, sustainable solutions to the local water crisis in South Sudan.

01/23/2026

Clean water = more time for basketball! 🏀

The Mayar Wau basketball tournament over Christmas was full of energy, teamwork, and smiles. When communities have reliable water, kids have time to play, grow, and dream bigger.

We’re proud to support communities like Wau, where clean water means more than health — it means opportunity. Every pump repaired, every system maintained makes moments like this possible. ❤️

01/19/2026

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the clarity of his dream—a future where dignity is woven into everyday life.

In our beautifully illustrated book, I Dream of Water, by Shawn Small, Jina begins with a line that stays with you:

“Every night I dream of water.”

That dream doesn’t come from despair. It comes from honesty. From living in places where water access still requires planning, patience, and shared effort.

Dr. King named a dream because something essential was still missing. When people dream of water today, it points us toward the same kind of unfinished work.

The progress we see comes from showing up consistently, working in partnership, and building things meant to last. It’s steady. It’s shared. And it matters.

Message us if you would like a copy of our beautifully illustrated book, "I Dream of Water".

01/17/2026

Clean water restored in Malek, Warrap State, South Sudan.

Thanks to the Tiaraliet women-led repair team, the Amuol Borehole near Mangar Lual Primary School is flowing again. Led by Rebecca Adut Arol, the team fixed it in just 3 days, bringing clean water to ~120 households.

Before this, families walked 30 minutes just to collect water. Now it’s safe, reliable, and nearby—all because local leadership + community teamwork = solutions that last.

📍 Malek County, Warrap State
🛠️ Well repaired: Nov 8, 2025

Standing with women restoring clean water—one well at a time.

01/14/2026

Water Is Basic began nearly 20 years ago within the Irving Bible Church community—and that story will always matter to us.

For almost two decades, IBC has stood with this work through prayer, presence, and faithful partnership. They have walked alongside the people of South Sudan and the local teams leading this work, offering encouragement, trust, and a shared belief in what clean water makes possible.

As seasons change, we want to pause and say thank you. Thank you for the years of commitment, generosity, and relationship. We are deeply grateful for the role Irving Bible Church has played in shaping this mission and the impact that continues because of it.

01/12/2026

In 2026, we mark two decades of working alongside communities in South Sudan.

Some of you have been part of this journey from the start; others are joining us for the first time. Together, you’ve made it possible for clean water systems to be maintained, repaired, and sustained over time.

This progress continues because of long-term commitment — from communities leading solutions on the ground, and from supporters who know change takes years, not moments.

We’re filled with gratitude as we look ahead to celebrating this milestone together in April.

01/07/2026

When clean water flows, everything grows. 🌿

In Wau, women are turning access into opportunity — using restored wells to grow gardens that feed their families and strengthen their communities.

Every bucket filled, every seed watered, every smile shared — that’s the impact of clean water in action.

Together, we’re building a future where every community can thrive — one well, one woman, one drop at a time.

💧 Learn more → waterisbasic.org

01/01/2026

As we close out our 19th year of seeking clean water for ALL South Sudanese, I want you to hear from someone whose steady wisdom has shaped Water is Basic through one of its most important seasons.

After six years of service, our Board Chair, Karin, is stepping off the board. What follows are her words — a clear-eyed look at where we started, how far we’ve come, and why these final days of the year still matter.

We are close to our year-end goal.
Not finished — but close.
And this moment deserves honesty, gratitude, and resolve.

— Steve

✳️ ✳️ ✳️

In 2010, I met Steve Roese in South Sudan.

My family and I were there with another organization, but one afternoon we found ourselves in a community that had just received its first well. For the first time, clean water flowed where sickness and loss had ruled.

Women and children told us what had changed. People were no longer dying from dirty water. Women and girls had hours of their lives returned. Girls could go to school.

Children led us to where they used to collect water — shallow, murky puddles that were never safe, regardless of the season. Standing there, something settled in me.

That day marked the beginning of my journey with Water is Basic.

Today, over 35 women-led teams are restoring water in days, not years.
3,920 projects completed.
2 million people now have access to clean water.

And still, we are not finished.

As I write this final note as Board Chair, Water is Basic is close to its year-end goal, but not across the line. If you are wondering whether your giving matters, let me answer clearly:

It does.
It always has.
And it does right now.

Will you help carry this work across the finish line?

With gratitude,
Karin
Board Chair, Water is Basic (2019–2025)

💧 Give today — link in bio

12/30/2025

A note from Water is Basic supporters who saw the work firsthand this year…

Hi everyone,

Our travel to South Sudan changed our lives and won’t be our last.

In September, we traveled to South Sudan to learn more about Water is Basic. It was our very first time on the African continent — and honestly, we had no idea what to expect. The journey alone was an adventure: nearly 24 hours to reach Nairobi, followed by two more flights on small planes, and hours spent in a car bouncing over dirt roads from village to village.

And then we arrived… and everything shifted.

We met people who have lived through decades of conflict, those who survive with almost no infrastructure, and individuals carrying weights we can barely imagine. They often have no access to clean water, inadequate sanitation, and limited food supplies. Life expectancy is only about 52 years.

And yet — the people of South Sudan were warm, welcoming, resilient, and full of a kind of joy we didn’t expect. They greeted us like family.

Then we saw the part that truly stunned us:

✨ Women repairing wells
✨ Women leading cooperatives
✨ Women earning income and transforming entire villages

In a culture where leadership has traditionally been dominated by men, watching women trained by Water is Basic confidently dismantle and rebuild wells — it was groundbreaking. And it works. We watched it working.

Villagers were thrilled to welcome the Water is Basic team. Their gratitude was overwhelming. Thai even had the chance to offer some dental care while we were there — a small act, but it opened beautiful doors to connection.

We came home changed. Deeply so.

We highly support your generous gifts to Water is Basic. It’s worth seeing up close. It’s worth being part of. It’s also worth supporting.

Our on-the-ground experience has confirmed what we had only heard about, and we wholeheartedly recommend your support this year-end.

With gratitude,
Steven Roth & Thai Tran

👉 Give today: waterisbasic.org

YearEndGiving

12/23/2025

Here’s the truth we don’t say often enough:

Every single day a well remains broken, women and girls lose hours just walking for water.

Hours stolen from school.
From work.
From planting and harvesting.
From rest, safety, and dignity.

But when a woman in South Sudan becomes a trained pump mechanic—
✨ something flips.

Time starts flowing back.

Maria gave 40 communities their time back last year.
Asunta’s repairs helped fund her children’s future.

And in 2026, women across four states will prove one simple truth:

If you want to change the world, start with what the world can’t live without.

💥 2026 is the year we take this model to two more entire states—doubling the number of trained women mechanics.
But only if we hit the numbers that get us there.

🎯 We need $300,000 by December 31
⏳ We’re $66,651 away from starting 2026 right.

If you’ve been waiting—this is the moment.

Let’s not surrender one more day to the walk.

🎄 Give the gift of time this Christmas.
Restore time. Restore futures.

👉 Make your Vision 2030 year-end gift (link in bio)

12/08/2025

Full-circle moment. 💛

Yesterday, our founder, Steve Roese, visited — the church that helped launch Water is Basic and believed in this mission from the very beginning.

Years later, they’re still walking with us — now helping us finish what they helped start through Vision 2030: bringing clean water to all 10 states of South Sudan by the year 2030.

To everyone who has supported from the early days or joined along the way — thank you for being part of this story.

12/04/2025

Because of you, we did it — and then we went further.

On Giving Tuesday, you helped raise over $37,000 — enough to train 13 new women well-repair leaders across South Sudan. Your generosity carried this movement beyond our original goal, expanding the impact in ways that will ripple for years.

This means:
✨ 13 women will be trained and equipped as pump mechanics
✨ Hundreds of wells will be repaired and kept running
✨ Thousands of people will gain reliable access to clean water
✨ Women and girls will reclaim hours once lost to long walks for unsafe water

Behind every dollar you gave is a story already beginning — women who will rise into leadership, communities that will strengthen, and futures that will open.

We can’t wait to share updates as these new mechanics complete their training, join cooperatives, and begin restoring wells. Vision 2030 is being built in real time — and you are part of it.

With deep gratitude,
The Water is Basic Team

12/02/2025

Giving Tuesday is here — and we’re starting the day with an extraordinary opportunity.

Every gift this Giving Tuesday will be matched up to $13,750 to help us train 10 new women well-repair leaders across South Sudan. This makes it much easier for us to reach our goal of $27,500!

Women like Maria and Asunta are repairing wells, restoring water, and rewriting futures. Today, we begin funding the next 10 women just like them.

Thank you for starting this day with us!

Address

Dallas, TX

Telephone

+12145199087

Website

http://www.waterisbasic.org/, https://www.waterisbasic.org/double-your-donation, https://secure.qgiv.com/event/thirstnom

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