As the global water shortage crisis grows, it has become more apparent than ever that the children of today will inherit water woes, as well as provide the source for answers about how to address the problems in the future.

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) began in 1984 and is a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate children, parents and teachers about the water crisis, possible solutions and using water responsibly in a world in which the population is rising and freshwater reserves are shrinking.

This mission is global in scope, and focuses its resources in four key areas: making water resource materials easily understood and accessible, funding training workshops on water quality and conservation subjects, organizing community events and establishing a network that links educators to water resource professionals and scientists.

The Project WET Foundation is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, and emphasizes the importance of water conservation awareness at home as well as in locations abroad. Unlike some other organizations, Project WET sets goals for educating children that may not directly feel – or readily understand – the effects of a water shortage.

This all-inclusive approach has led to initiatives in the North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. In total, Project WET supports 100 coordinators and 3,000 facilitators in 42 countries around the world. In some locations, like Afghanistan, Fiji and Togo, contact by other organizations has been sparse, but Project WET has been able to make inroads.

In addition to providing direct hands-on support, the organization also partners with large corporations in an effort to expand its message. While some organizations deride companies that may be seen to abuse resources, like Nestle and Wal-Mart, Project Wet courts them in an effort to increase awareness and change business practices.

This is exemplary of Planet WET’s overall message of harnessing global potential, in the world’s children as well as in all others, to solve a global problem.