U2 Fans Raise Money in Honor of Bono’s Birthday for Clean Water in Tanzania


The African Well Fund (AWF) is excited to announce its 19th annual Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday campaign. Beginning May 1, AWF invites U2 fans from around the world to donate funds in honor of the musician’s 61th birthday. This year AWF is once again partnering with The Outer Loop Theater Experience to build a well in Msona,Tanzania.

This year’s project will mark AWF’s third collaboration with The Outer Loop. The first two projects were built in the village of Mloka, providing a waterpoint at a health center as well as a community well and the rehabilitation of a school waterpoint. Msona is also located in the Mwaseni Ward of Tanzania ten miles from Mloka. The town has a population of approximately 2500 and the well will be located on the grounds of the secondary school. Currently, the school does not have any water for toilet facilities and the village does not have a clean, safe water access point. “The communities we work with in Tanzania are profoundly grateful for the partnership we have maintained with African Well Fund,” says Outer Loop managing director Rachael Yoder. “The last three projects funded by AWF in partnership with The Outer Loop have directly impacted the lives of over 6,000 people. We hear constantly how quality of life, health, and education have improved in Mloka thanks to these water projects. This next project will broaden the scope of assistance to a neighboring community in need, and will directly improve the lives of the Msona community; primarily school-aged children and their families.”

Since 2003, AWF has joined together with the U2 fan community to celebrate and honor Bono’s birthday by raising funds for clean water and sanitation projects. Once again we asked this community for help in suggesting a theme. The winning theme, Carry Each Other, came from long time U2 fan and African Well Fund supporter, Marilyn Lynch. “Bono’s words from the song One, “carry each other,” are a reminder of the deceptively simple core concept that we’re all in it together and that helping one another is both a responsibility and a privilege,” Lynch explains. “That’s the spirit I admire in the African Well Fund, with its origins in a small group of people who had U2 in common and channeled that commonality to make a real difference in the world. Something as seemingly simple as songs can inspire and uplift people, and something as simple as access to water can transform lives”.

From May 1 to May 31, fans may donate through the AWF website: https://africanwellfund.org/bbw21/ 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. Since 2003, more than $280,000 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.

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. https://africanwellfund.org/

The Outer Loop is a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts and humanitarian organization. The Outer Loop strives to discover compelling stories that resonate with audiences, and looks for unique and engaging ways in which to tell them. The Outer Loop is committed, through storytelling, to addressing Tanzanian development and health issues, by working in partnership with the Tanzanian people to build sustainable and productive communities. https://www.outerlooptheater.org/

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