It is difficult for any of us to go without water for any length of time. The occasional heat-wave and hose-pipe ban is a world away from the life-threatening water shortages that plague impoverished areas of the globe.

Yet, over one billion people world-wide lack access to water and over two and a half billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.

With these appalling statistics in mind, and following our Founders' joint experiences working in Africa throughout Africa in the 70s and 80s, Action Water was set up in 1985.

We believe that the supply of clean water and sanitation facilities to war-town and famine-stricken communities is the first step to repairing shattered lives.

We recognize that whilst the reasons for water-shortages are complex and manifold there are few agencies with the specialist skills needed to provide a swift and effective response. Action Water has been designed to fill that void.

Since we started our Cornwall-based operation Action Water has refurbished over 70 second-hand Bedford, Leyland, DAF and Mercedes water tankers which are transported to aid agencies already working in the field, where they bring clean, safe water to communities living in dire poverty, often in remote areas.

To date Action Water has supplied relief vehicles to projects in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Tigray, Eritrea, Mozambique, Rwanda and Gambia to name but a few.

During the 12 years we worked in southern rural India, no less than 15 water tankers were supplied to various municipalities, supplying safe drinking water to villages and improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Hundreds of deep bore wells have also been sunk (and many refurbished) in dalit communities in India which had been previously overlooked by government and larger aid agencies alike.
A glance at our gallery pages will serve to illustrate just how successful this enterprise was!