Changing Lives With Clean Water (11/12 at 4:15 p.m.)

The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship invites you to

CHANGING LIVES WITH CLEAN WATER

A conversation and information session with Kate Clopeck, 
Co-founder and Executive Director of Community Water Solutions

Tuesday, November 12
4:15-5:15 p.m.
Allbritton 004

 During this session, Kate will talk about her experience as a social entrepreneur, the mission and strategy of CWS, and the CWS Fellowship (which is currently accepting applications).

REGISTER NOW

   

kateKate Clopeck

CWS co-founder and Executive Director, Kate Clopeck graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and secured her “perfect” job — a great salary, benefits and her own office. It was a great opportunity, but from day one she knew something was missing. A few years later, Kate went back to school for a Masters in Technology and Policy at MIT, where she focused her work on the sustained use of household water treatment and safe storage technologies. This work — combined with business partners and seed funding that she found at MIT — led Kate to create Community Water Solutions and commit her career to this high-impact, sustainable, and scalable social enterprise.

 

 

CWSCommunity Water Solutions

Community Water Solutions empowers women to launch sustainable water businesses. How do we do it? We don’t drill wells! Instead, we bring students and young professionals from around the world to West Africa, where they build water treatment centers and train local women to run them. These businesses provide safe drinking water to the entire community, generate income for the women entrepreneurs who run them, and use local products. To date, CWS has launched 55 water businesses in Ghana that provide clean water to more than 30,000 people. 100% of our businesses are still in operation today.

 

 

fellowshipCWS Fellowship

Interested in volunteering in Africa?  Want to learn more about the global water crisis?  Looking for experience working in the field and want to make a sustainable impact?

The CWS Fellowship Program is a three-week volunteer trip in Ghana. The purpose of the program is to teach students about the water crisis while giving them an opportunity to make a significant, lasting impact on this global problem. Before traveling to Africa, each Fellow works to raise a $2,950 fellowship fee (which covers all of their in-country expenses) plus airfare to Ghana.

Fellows are grouped in teams of four and paired with a rural community in Northern Region Ghana. Each team works with their community to build a water treatment business and train local women entrepreneurs how to run it. By the end of the 3 week program, each team will have provided a permanent source of safe drinking water for an entire community (approx. 1,000 people).

Over the past 3 years, CWS has hosted 179 Fellows in Ghana who have launched 50 water businesses in rural villages. Check out this video to learn more about the CWS and the Fellowship.

CWS hosts two programs in Ghana each year: The Winter Program, which takes place from December 28th-January 19th and the Summer Program which takes place from May 29th-June 19th.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to apply now!