[To go directly to this year’s campaign page where you can donate, sign the card, and get BBW campaign materials, follow the link!]
The African Well Fund (AWF) is excited to announce its 20th annual Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday campaign. During the month of May, AWF invites U2 fans from around the world to donate funds in honor of the musician’s 62th birthday. The money raised will be used to fund a water and sanitation project in Senegal.
Twenty years ago, a small group of U2 fans gathered online with the intention of raising enough money to build a clean water well in Africa. They hit upon the idea of raising money in honor of Bono’s May 10th birthday and the first Build a Well for Bono’s birthday was born. Since that time more than $296,00 has been raised in Bono’s honor to fund the construction of clean water and sanitation projects that are benefiting more than 86,000 people in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
This year’s campaign marks a return to AWF’s partnership with original and long-time partner Africare in their new iteration as PanAfricare. In 2020, Africare announced that it was winding down its operations and entrusting its mission to an autonomous new African-based organization PanAfricare. PanAfricare is currently one of the most experienced development organizations of its kind in Africa: African-established, African-led, and working across all regions of sub-Saharan Africa.
This year we aim to raise $20,000 to build water access points in eight towns in the department of Podor in Senegal. These access points will make water available for drinking, sanitation, and gardening to over 13,000 Senegalese community members. It’s a big ask, but we like to dream big! $20,000 for our twentieth anniversary! From May 1 to May 31, fans may donate through the AWF website. As always, all donors are invited to add their name and a message to a birthday card that will be sent to Bono upon completion of the fundraiser.
The African Well Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of funding clean water and sanitation projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding in 2002, the organization has raised more than $1 million to fund over 30 projects in 15 countries, benefiting more than 360,000 people.