The Model
We developed an innovative model that creates community-driven water organizations called “PODS” – People Offering Deliverable Services. PODS are independent, income-generating education, training, and service centers that can design sustainable water programs to self-fund their own community development. We create and strengthen PODS at the local, regional, and national level, building their capacity to partner with local government and funders.

We believe in giving a hand-up not a hand-out. Local people know their water, their climate conditions, and their landscape. Who better than locals to assess, plan, implement and manage their own water service projects?

For significant and permanent change to occur, the presence of a local hub for water resource expertise must be stable, sustainable, and run by its own citizens. To ensure sustainability, we focus on empowerment through a holistic combination of health, financial livelihood, and community participation. ASD works directly with the implementers, organizers, funders and beneficiaries to ensure each project’s success. ASD supports communities with the tools, skills, and confidence to take full responsibility and ownership of their project from start to finish.

The Philippines
A Single Drop for SafeWater (ASDSW) is ASD’s first international office in the Philippines. ASDSW embodies the National PODS model – a country-specific clearinghouse for water education and training that creates and offers services to Regional and Local PODS. The ASDSW office is self-sufficient, generating earned income through professional fees, thus independent and self-reliant. Led by Gemma Bulos and Kevin Lee, each native Filipino staff member is an expert in water solutions and community organizing and is often sought out by international organizations such as UNICEF and OXFAM for consultation, training and assistance.  

ASD intends to open a second international office in Uganda in 2010 with a focus on Women-Led Initiatives.