NEWS
Shuar Water Crisis &
Giving Back (Update)
Seven Wells Bringing Clean Water to the Amazon
Seven wells are now bringing clean, safe water to families living deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
(Mon, August 10th, 2026) Over the past year, Giving Back has completed seven new water wells in remote Shuar communities in Morona-Santiago, Ecuador.
For many families here, rivers and streams have long been their primary source of water for drinking, cooking and bathing. Unfortunately, these waters can carry contamination that puts families, and especially children, at risk of waterborne illness.
Working together with the Shuar communities, we have been able to bring clean water closer to home through simple, sustainable well systems.
The video above takes you into these communities and shows the people, the work, and what access to clean water means for the families who live here.
Seven wells are complete—and we hope this is only the beginning.
Clean Water for Taisha: A New Future Begins
Thanks to the first well in Tuutinentsa, these children now have safe water to drink, bathe, and grow strong
(Wed. December 17th, 2025) During the last decades while living inside the Amazon Rainforest near Taisha, Morona-Santiago- Shuar families have been completely reliant on rivers that have become increasingly contaminated for drinking and bathing.This past year, these conditions have created an extremely tragic event - eight Shuar children died from a preventable waterborne illness.
Until this year, no other organization or group has adequately addressed this critical issue of clean water.
In close partnership with Shuar leadership, Giving Back has begun the task of solving this ongoing terrible threat- once and for all.
For the first time ever this December, water wells have been installed to provide safe drinking and bathing water for the Shuar Peoples.
This is a start, but our work is far from complete.
During the 1st half of 2026, it is absolutely vital that this work is continued & that we install 40 additional Shuar wells. These new wells will radically change the lives for the more than 10,000 individuals over the expansive Shuar Territory. Details on Shuar Water Wells:
-
Produce up to 1,000 gallons of clean drinking water per day
-
Require a three-day setup and installation process carried out by a four-person technical team
-
Wells provide access to clean underground aquifers that are tested and verified as safe for drinking
-
The drilling group is led by trained technicians drawn from the Shuar community
-
Consistent construction quality is ensured through the use of a standardized rotary drilling rig designed for reliable performance in remote terrain
Each comunity well only costs $3,500 USD to construct. Each Shuar well brings great hope & life to Shuar communities that desperately need our support at this time.
Please help us achieve this goal. Your donation for a Shuar Well literally provides a secure future to the Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest and their children.
Utilize the Donate Button below or if you have further questions- contact us by email & we would be happy to speak with you.
