Press Release: Well Aware’s Well Beyond App Honored in Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards

The Well Beyond App is honored among other products, concepts, companies, policies, and designs that are driving change, tackling issues from climate change to inequality, and so much more.

AUSTIN TX, [May 3, 2022] — Well Aware, an award-winning international nonprofit, today was recognized as part of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas. The company was named a finalist in the Developing World Technology category and an honorable mention in the Water category for the Well Beyond App, the first and only patent-pending diagnostics and maintenance app developed to ensure long-term success for water projects. The awards honor clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises.

“We are deeply humbled by this honor from Fast Company,” said Sarah Evans, founder of Well Aware. “Having been in international development for almost 15 years, and seeing broken water wells littering the landscape of developing countries, we felt compelled to do something about it. Fast Company’s recognition will help us reach more people and keep more water systems running for the people who need it most. One billion people still await clean water access. We have to speed up our work, and this gives us the fuel to do that.”

The Well Beyond App was created because, despite thousands of nonprofits working to provide clean water in Africa, 60% of water wells fail. With the app, community members can now maintain and diagnose water systems, allowing them to solve issues on their own. In addition to keeping the wells up and running indefinitely, the new tool also aggregates valuable data on how the water systems are used, providing indicators of community-led success.

Mobile tech and Wi-Fi connectivity have seen significant growth in developing countries, providing an opportunity for the founders, Sarah Evans and Kathryn Bergmann, to create Well Beyond, a for-profit technology company for the water sector and subsidiary of Well Aware. The Well Beyond app further supports partner communities without using any contributions from donors of the nonprofit, and is now generally available for other nonprofit use.

Fast Company’s Summer 2022 issue (on newsstands May 10, 2022) will showcase The Well Beyond App and more of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling global challenges. The issues highlight, among others, probiotics for coral reefs, easy-to-assemble kit homes for refugees or disaster survivors, a 3D printed vaccine patch, an electric truck, a system to heat homes from the waste heat of a name-brand factory, and prosecutor-initiated resentencing for overly long prison sentences.

“We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society’s most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges,” says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution.”

About the World Changing Ideas Awards:

World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.

About Well Aware:

Austin-based, international 501(c)3 nonprofit Well Aware builds sustainable clean water systems in East Africa to drive development and empower communities. To date, Well Aware has implemented over 100 projects and provided lasting clean water to more than 300,000 people across Kenya and Tanzania. With their technical expertise and community-driven approach, Well Aware continues to maintain a 100% success rate across all of their water projects — setting a new standard for efficiency and sustainability in the water aid sector.

About Well Beyond:

Well Beyond is a women-owned and operated consulting and technology company serving the water sector to improve rural water supply worldwide. A social enterprise subsidiary of Well Aware, Well Beyond is leveraging technology and expertise to close the accountability gap in international water charity. Co-founders Sarah Evans and Kathryn Bergmann have a combined 20+ years of experience in the international development sector.