About us

About us

What we do

We provide clean water, sanitation and shelter for refugees arriving in Europe.

Since 2017, Watershed has been building and improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, as well as safe shelter for refugees arriving in Europe. We strive for quality facilities which provide a small amount of normality to people’s lives.
Our work is based on internationally recognised standards drawn up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Sphere Handbook.

Why we exist

Thousands fleeing do not have access to a basic standard of hygiene.

We know that access to clean water, decent sanitation and shelter are vital for everyone’s dignity, mental and physical health. However, in face of Europe’s biggest migration crisis of the 21st century, thousands fleeing conflict and oppression do not have access to these basic services.

How we work

When something is broken, we fix it.

We are committed to making a difference, where the need is most pressing. When there is a blockage, we unblock it. When something is missing, we replace it. When something is broken, we fix it. When there is a leak, we stop it. If something is dirty, we clean it.

Who we are

We are dedicated, passionate engineers and builders.

We are a group of dedicated, passionate engineers and builders providing a fast and efficient humanitarian response. What unites us is a practical, hands-on mentality, a solution-driven spirit and the joint wish to deliver the maximum benefit to as many people in need as we can.

Team Story

It all started with Patrik, Jonathan, Jef, Sian and Sean meeting as volunteers from across the continent in Thessaloniki in 2016. In the face of a freezing winter, we built wooden floors under tents and made urgent repairs to heating and electrical systems. Since then, much has happened. We became friends with a common interest and we are still working together today. Long term team members who have luckily joined our team are Andreas, Charlie, Jonas, Christina, Eleni, Anastasia, Giacomo, Paul, Stelios and Eva, – as well as a number of volunteers from all over the world, all committed to fighting for the dignity of people on the move in Europe’s border zones.

Volunteering

Yousif Al Shewaili

Volunteering

Our funding structure

With the support of committed private individuals, other non profit organisations, as well as several corporations, we have been able to finance our WASH and shelter projects in Greece and Serbia in the last four years. As everything else, it has been quite a development!

Whereas in 2017 eight transactions made by only five donors enabled our work, in 2020 we thanked a total of 260 donors, coming from countries all over Europe, namely Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. We are independent of public funding, always aiming for a balanced split of sustainable income sources. Our two major sources of funding are non-profit NGOs as well as private donors. A big thanks goes to institutions such as Choose Love, Caritas Austria, the Christian Refugee Relief, Global Aid Network, Médecins sans Frontières, Viva con Agua, Volunteers for Humanity – as well as every individual private donor – who has supported us and therefore the people we serve.

Transparency

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