OPINION:
As the CEO of Water4, my life’s work reflects a belief that faith and work intertwine to foster economic flourishing and a secure future. From rural South Alabama to sub-Saharan Africa, I’ve learned God’s design for humanity is to thrive mind, body and spirit. Water4 pursues this by delivering market-based solutions to the global water crisis, breaking barriers to prosperity.
Growing up, I learned hard work and self-reliance in a practical world. My environment taught me the value of incremental progress. Poverty wasn’t framed in the languages of power, and there was an assumption requiring action from those experiencing it to move forward.
Compassion tempered by responsibility shaped me. This ethos led me to Togo, West Africa, where, as a missionary, I began drilling wells after a boy named Olivier died from waterborne illness. My own battle with a similar illness turned this work into a calling.
Twenty years in Africa revealed that charity alone cannot solve problems it can abate them temporarily, but governments and charities provide only 25% of the needed resources, leaving billions without safe water in low-income nations.
This is why Water4’s mission is creating scalable, customer-reliant businesses for rural and periurban water markets. Faith anchors our approach, answering God’s call to steward the earth. We pair safe water provision with the “Living Water” of Christ, blending faith with reason.
Asking communities what they’re willing to pay revealed a demand for piped water at home. This led to our NUMA water systems, serving over 1 million people across four countries, employing 1,500 locals to build and maintain prepaid water meters at homes and retail points. Employees are empowered and equipped to share their faith through daily interactions, resulting in 35,000 weekly community bible study groups.
Charging the poor for water may seem counterintuitive, but it’s transformative. Rural African families save three hours daily by paying for piped water, freeing women and girls for education, work or entrepreneurship. Private tap ownership sparks cottage industries like restaurants and hair salons. The free market drives innovation, creating resources where none existed. Sales cover operations, maintenance and capital replacement, with profits reinvested to expand water points, fostering economic dignity.
Take Joseph, a tailor in Sierra Leone who lost a leg in the civil war. Using savings for a water connection, he and his wife opened a hair salon, employing youth and empowering their community. His incremental progress turned opportunity into prosperity. True charity equips people to stand independently, not perpetuating dependency.
Yet, charity culture often prioritizes intentions over outcomes. Thomas Aquinas, echoing Augustine, warns in his “Summa Theologiae” that compassion without wisdom becomes pity, trapping people in despair. Biblical compassion offers a rope to climb toward flourishing. Customers’ payments spark innovation, as families demand value, calculate returns and seize opportunities to maximize income.
Our goal is to serve 5 million people by 2030 with investable piped water solutions that unlock capital proportionate to the crises’ scale. Half the planet lacks safe drinking water at home, and business is the only force capable of multiplying resources like loaves and fishes.
G.K. Chesterton said in “The Everlasting Man”: “There are two ways of getting home, and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place.”
Faith and work have brought me full circle, showing people aren’t defined by their starting point but by their destination. Biblical charity seeks to eliminate the need for charity, empowering communities to thrive.
• Matt Hangen is the CEO of Water4, which has installed more than 18,000 water projects that serve 2.73 million people and created 1,500 ongoing jobs under his leadership. He is a missionary, a philosopher and an entrepreneur who has been working to tackle problems of poverty in Africa for almost two decades.
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