Q: Why do you only work in the Dominican Republic? Don't a lot of other countries also struggle with clean water?
A: It all starts with our origin story. In 2006, our founder Tom Flaim traveled to the DR on a mission trip with his church. As an engineer in the water purification business, he brought a small water filtration system with him. He quickly realized how people in many parts of the country had little to no access to clean, safe water and felt the Lord calling him to do something about it.
In 2012, Water at Work Ministry was officially incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission to establish clean water businesses through local Dominican churches. Although our target country is the Dominican Republic, we help a multitude of immigrant Haitians who make up many of the rural poor we serve.
Other countries in the world absolutely need clean water, too - and we love the various organizations that can meet those needs. However, because of our original calling and the limits of our resources, our focus is just on the Dominican Republic (at least for now). Our model is to go deep in one place and get it right.