Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Lifewater Canada is celebrating 30 years of providing safe drinking water to communities in Africa and Haiti—a milestone the organization says will see it surpass 10 million people served by the end of this year.
Founded in 1995 by the late Ontario hydrogeologist Jim Gehrels, the registered Canadian charity has completed more than 22,000 water projects across Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya and Haiti. Lifewater was born out of Gehrels’ decision to accelerate his dream of drilling wells in Africa after learning he would eventually lose his sight to a degenerative eye disease.
Three decades later, his wife, Lynda Gehrels, now leads the organization from its Thunder Bay headquarters, continuing his legacy with a small team of staff and a growing network of locally led drilling crews.
“It’s only because of the generosity of our donors—including individuals, corporations, churches, and foundations—that we’re able this year to celebrate our 30th anniversary,” said Lifewater Canada president Lynda Gehrels. “Lifewater has always been focused on empowering people to provide water for themselves, and that includes empowering women. Our drilling and repair teams now have several female members, and we intend to train and equip more.”
The organization’s fieldwork is carried out by local teams trained and equipped by Lifewater, who are paid only after submitting full documentation, including GPS data, photos and community acknowledgement—a model that has earned Lifewater a Top 10 Charity ranking from Charity Intelligence for six consecutive years.
Custom-made, truck-mounted drilling rigs are also expanding the reach of the teams.
“This new rig is amazing and goes anywhere that we need it to go without a problem,” says Hosea Apeh, leader of Lifewater’s drilling and repair team in Nigeria and a professor of educational psychology at the University of Abuja. “We can now access communities based solely on their need, rather than our ability to get there with a machine. That has changed everything for us.”
What began as one man’s mission to drill a single well in Liberia has evolved into a globally recognized effort to provide sustainable, locally managed access to safe water—and a Canadian story of persistence, partnership and purpose.
