Water Mission has a big global footprint

Tom KingFarragut

Ever heard of the non-profit known as “Water Mission?” Me neither. Not until yesterday, that is, when Bill Moore introduced the Rotary Club of Farragut to this global organization that focuses on providing safe water, safe sanitation and hygiene to people in developing and impoverished countries.

Moore recently became the volunteer Knoxville area team keader for Water Mission, a 23-year-old Christian engineering organization based in North Charleston, S.C., where its founders, the late Molly Greene and her husband, George, lived.

Greene owned an environmental engineering company there when he witnessed the devastation in Honduras caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. After receiving a request for multiple water treatment systems in Honduras, and being unable to find existing systems that would work, he and his team of engineers took action to build such a system – and the idea for Water Mission was born. They’re still at it in 2022.

Moore recently became the volunteer Knoxville Area Team Leader for Water Mission, a 23-year-old Christian engineering organization based in North Charleston, S.C., where its founders, the late Molly Greene and her husband, George, lived.

We even learned from Moore that Water Mission and Rotary International became long-term partners in Peru 18 years ago to tackle clean water issues there. They’re still at it there, too.

In 23 years, this organization has worked on more than 3,000 projects in 57 countries that has impacted the lives of 7 million people. Here are a few eye-opening numbers:

  • 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water, one-third of the world’s population.
  • 4.2 billion do not have safe sanitation facilities, over half of the world’s population.
  • One person dies every 37 seconds around the world due to water-related illnesses – and most are children.

Water Mission also works in refugee camps and locations dealing with natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes. And it has boots on the grounds – 400 full-time employees working in 10 countries. A new member of Farragut Rotary, Tory Kinson, is now training to become the fifth member of the Knoxville area team.

Moore’s career has primarily been in the area of program management and business development serving engineering and construction firms in both government and the private sector. His most recent assignment was serving as executive director of a national business association with an emphasis on work for agencies in the federal government.

Water Mission has an impressive list of partners – FedEx, IBM, Kohler, Rotary International, UNICEF and the American Red Cross, to name a few.

“They’ve studied what we do and came to the same conclusion – this is a very stark problem for the world,” Moore said.

If you would like more information, call Moore at 865-770-1863 or email him at moorehome54@gmail.com. To learn more about Water Mission, go here

To explore membership in the Rotary Club of Farragut, call 865-659-3562. Farragut Rotary meets each Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. at Fox Den Country Club. Tom King, a past president of Farragut Rotary, has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and has been the editor of two newspapers.

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