A gift of water is a gift of life

WellWishers was founded by Ross and Marianne Allan in 2002 to raise funds and monitor the building of wells in the villages of Ethiopia. WellWishers Trust was subsequently established in 2007. 1,162 wells have been constructed since 2002, providing clean permanent domestic water for over 360,000 villagers in northern Ethiopia.

These hand-dug village wells were designed in Australia in the 1990s, and construction is carried out by the Ethiopian non-government organisation, the Relief Society of Tigray (REST). REST has established a formidable reputation in delivering a range of programs in Ethiopia, and we are proud to have REST and village communities as our partners. For the latest updates from Tigray, visit our news section.

We have a straightforward program: WellWishers does the fundraising and REST does the implementation. WellWishers functions on the generosity of volunteer labour, so our overheads are negligible. Every $7,800 of WellWishers support provides a village with clean permanent nearby water, eliminating water-borne disease, saving lives and providing new opportunities - especially for women and girls.

We are accountable to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), where you can access our financial reports.

We value any support you can give to this life-saving program.