OUR STORY
The Mission
At Water Access To All, our mission is to provide immediate and sustainable access to clean water for communities in need. Through the use of portable water filtration systems and collaboration with local partners on long-term infrastructure projects, we aim to address water inequality and create lasting positive change. We are dedicated to ensuring that every person has the fundamental human right to safe, clean water.
WATER ACCESS TO ALL
Access to clean water is transformative. While the health benefits are clear, the ripple effect it creates in a community is profound and often overlooked. Reducing waterborne illnesses like Cholera, Salmonella, Giardia, E. Coli, and Typhoid is crucial, but the positive impact extends much further.
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Clean water means less money spent on medical care, fewer sick days, and less time collecting water or materials for boiling contaminated water. This leads to significant socioeconomic improvements. Children have fewer sick days, resulting in better school attendance and improved educational outcomes. The benefits extend to infant care, feminine hygiene, and women’s empowerment.
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These reasons drive us every day, fueled by the belief that access to clean water is a basic human right. We are committed to making this a reality for everyone.
The Story
IT'S IN OUR HANDS
In January 2024, Cyrus Maroofian launched Water Access To All (W.A.T.A.) to provide clean drinking water to underserved communities worldwide. His journey began in 2014, during a trip to Jamaica, where he saw the potential for improving rainwater collection systems while in the mountain towns. This experience, along with a education in environmental engineering, ignited his passion for addressing the global water crisis. Partnering with his college friend Kevin, they founded Club H2O in 2014, distributing water filters to schools and hospitals worldwide through traveler networks and partnerships. During one of these partnerships, Cyrus met Arthur Han of the Han-Schneider International Children's Foundation, which bring an opportunity that would forever change him. This opportunity would come in the form of a transformative trip to Tanzania in 2015 with the Arthur and The Foundation during his senior year, where Cyrus would bring some water filters and donate to a school and local community. The impact of this trip solidified Cyrus's commitment to the cause.
After graduation, Cyrus continued his mission, setting up filters during personal trips to Mexico, Bolivia, Bali and Cuba, despite the challenges of balancing work and limited vacation days. In September 2023, a trip to Vietnam with the Han-Schneider Foundation renewed his focus, leading to the birth of W.A.T.A. In March 2024, W.A.T.A. set up 50 filters for half the families in a village in Vietnam and launched a program in Myanmar in partnership with the Surf Association of Myanmar. Most recently, W.A.T.A. partnered with the Long Way Home to bring clean water to 50 of the 200 families that attend the school. The plan is to donate filters to all the families.
W.A.T.A. addresses water scarcity by empowering local networks, partnering with community leaders, and ensuring sustainable solutions. Though a new organization, their approach is rooted in immediate impact through water filtration systems while exploring long-term infrastructure projects. Their goal is to create lasting change, driven by the belief that everyone deserves access to clean water as a basic human right.
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In the first year of W.A.T.A., the team has been able to start programs in 3 countries, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Guatemala, and setup 120 water filtration systems in communities in need.
TIMELINE
MARCH 2014
During a spring break trip to Jamaica, Cyrus Maroofian was inspired and motivated to find a solution to the water crisis he witnessed. Soon after, he connected with a college friend who shared the same goal and already had a project in mind.
