Not-for-profit consultancy CAWST receives major donation

Calgary-based CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology), a charity and not-for-profit engineering consultancy that addresses the need for safe drink water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in developing countries, has received a sizable donation from businessmen and philanthropists David O’Brien and Geoffrey Cumming.

O’Brien and Cumming will match donations up to $12 million, potentially bringing in $24 million for the Calgary charity. The pair of philanthropists will each donate up to $6 million.

“In 2017, I visited East Africa and witnessed how CAWST's model is so effective and scalable," said O'Brien, who is also chairman of CAWST. "This match campaign will change lives."

One-third of the of the world's population (2.1 billion people) lack access to safe, potable water at home, contributing to a cycle of poverty in developing countries. CAWST delivers practical training to global and local organizations to tackle WASH issues, while scaling up the number of local water, sanitation, and hygiene professionals.

The engineering consultancy teaches people how get safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in their homes through simple and affordable technologies. CAWST also helps organizations solve technical and strategic challenges in the WASH sphere, while providing further online education and training resources and elibraries.

CAWST’s clients have included the World Health Organization, Unicef, World Vision, and Oxfam. Founded in 2001, its current projects span Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

"CAWST is tackling a critical global need and this unique international charity and professional engineering entity is making significant progress addressing clean water and sanitation in developing countries," said Geoffrey Cumming.

The major donation will help the charitable consultancy accelerate its impact and reach.