220 wells · India & Sri Lanka
Clean Water Transforms Lives
Since June 2012, Breakthrough Water has completed 220 wells—218 in India and 2 in Sri Lanka—providing communities with local access to clean water.
Current impact
Based on confirmed well records containing population and family data. Actual reach may be higher.
Our beginning
It Began With a Neighbor’s Well
Long before he founded Breakthrough Water, Abraham Thomas knew what it meant to live without a water source of his own. Growing up in Kerala, India, he and his sisters crossed the road morning and evening to draw water from a Hindu neighbor’s well. Her kindness crossed religious lines and left a lasting mark.
Years later, while waiting for a friend’s wife to return from a long walk for water, that childhood memory returned. In that moment, Abraham heard what he describes as a still, small voice: “Give them Water.”
Within three days, drilling began in Makkuva, Andhra Pradesh. At 160 feet, there was still only dry rock, and the team was close to giving up. Instead, they prayed and kept drilling. Twenty-five feet later, water came gushing out. That first well, completed in June 2012, gave the program its name: Breakthrough Water.
Read Our StoryA shared source. A changed day.
Water Within Reach Changes the Day
Clean water changes more than the distance between a family and a water source. When the well is in the village, the long walks for water end, and time returns to family, work, school, and community life.
Closer to Home
Before a well, some women walked up to five kilometers for water, two or three times a day. A village well brings clean water within a short walk of home.
Time Returned
Hours once spent walking and carrying water go back to work, school, and family.
Built for the Setting
Many projects use a shared hand pump. Where the setting calls for it, the work can also include an electric pump, storage tank, pipes, and taps.
Help the story travel
Bring Someone Into the Story
A conversation can open the door to another village well. Share the work with someone you know, or invite Abraham to speak with your church, company, school, or group.
Share Clean Water
Short videos, field photographs, and ready-to-use captions make it easy to tell a friend about the work.
Invite Abraham to Speak
Hear how the work began and how clean water transforms lives. Send an invitation for your church, company, or next event.
The next project
Help Bring Clean Water Closer
Breakthrough Water continues through people who choose to stand with communities in need of a local water source. Give once or give monthly through our secure giving page. Every gift is designated to Breakthrough Water.
Questions about giving or sponsoring a complete well? Write to Team Breakthrough Water.
