Clean, safe, drinking water – it’s not an issue that makes the front page, but the fact is, there are over a billion people in the world who drink from contaminated water sources, especially in rural communities. "More than a billion people in the world lack safe drinking water.... About half the people in the developing nations suffer from diseases caused by contaminated water and an estimated 14,000 - 30,000 people die every day from water related diseases - but without media attention." State of the World, 2002 - World Watch Institute

To tackle the scarcity of fuel sources, AHEAD has turned to the sun to provide energy to power water purification systems in rural communities.  

AHEAD, Inc. has successfully demonstrated a method to test and pasteurize contaminated water using a simple, low-cost solar device, the Cookit. Pasteurization eliminates viruses and bacteria in drinking water. These contaminates are the primary causes of diarrheal diseases, the 2^nd leading cause of death among children in Tanzania. This program was implemented to teach people how to pasteurize water and save their lives using solar energy, a process that significantly reduces water-borne diseases.

AHEAD has sponsored workshops and training sessions in Tanzania for policy makers, administrators, health professionals, university students, secondary school students, development workers, village chiefs, Village Health Workers, village subgroups, water groups, women's groups, youth groups, and mothers in remote rural villages.  

As a result of AHEAD's work on issues relating to health and the environment, the organization was the recipient of the prestigious Ashden Awards for Renewable Energy, presented by the Whitley Foundation of Great Britain.

AHEAD, Inc. and its beneficiaries, i.e., families living in remote rural villages in Meatu and Kisarawe Districts in Tanzania, are grateful for the financial resources from AGI (Alternative Gifts International) and other donors. These funds have promoted the AHEAD Water Initiative in Tanzania and The Gambia, where villagers have conducted more than 800 tests on water sources in rural communities, trained more than 550 village health workers, mothers and youth, and supported the training of many more. To date, more than 100,000 individuals have benefited from the AHEAD Water Initiative.