Meet the students you can sponsor
Karo KamaveCivil EngineeringProfile (PDF)
Nathan OronaveCivil EngineeringProfile (PDF)
Muka GoreCommunity HealthProfile (PDF)
Timothy OloCommunity HealthProfile (PDF)
Petrus KisaiResearch Methods (Master’s)Profile (PDF)
Where the program stands
Status as of November 1, 2026
The long-term route to reliable clean water is training water professionals from within the communities we serve. Each scholarship pays for tuition, supplies and living costs, so a student with top grades can study instead of working to support their family, and a local partner checks on every student in person.
- DR Congo: students chosenJun–Aug 2026
- DR Congo: in classSince Oct 26, 2026
- PNG: students shortlistedOct 2026
- PNG: find sponsorsNow
- PNG: classes startFeb 2027
DR Congo · Goma · with PALPER✓ Funded · in class since October 26Our sponsors sent five of the best DR Congo students to university on October 26, 2026!
These students were all in the top 10–15% on the national exam, hoping to study water resource engineering or public health, and motivated to help their communities get clean water. But they all come from families earning less than $100 a month, where university tuition is impossible to fund. Our generous sponsors and our local partners made their dreams come true. We chose them from 33 applicants in June 2026.
Armed conflict closed our university of choice less than a month before class. Our local partner, PALPER, found an alternative in time.
PALPER, a DRC-based NGO, jumped into action to gather their health exams, complete the paperwork, and get them accepted and registered at Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs in time! PALPER also builds the water filters we fund in Goma, and the students will intern with them next summer.
Photos and video: PALPER.
Meet the students
Lareine Awezaye
Chantal Baraka
Faustin Bahati
Bienvenu Mwiseneza
Ruphin BiragiShared with each student’s written permission. The four engineering students begin with a preparatory year and choose their major next year; their degree, the Licence, qualifies them to work as civil engineers.
What it costs
$1,500 per student covers tuition, school supplies and living costs, so students can study instead of working to support their families, plus a paid summer internship with PALPER. Clean Water Help adds $1,000 a year for PALPER to manage the program in person, from registration to school supplies.
We think investing in local water resource scientists and engineers is the single greatest return on investment in the fight for a future where access to clean water is universal.
LakeTech, EutroPHIX and LSI each fund a full year of university ($1,500) for one of our DR Congo students. Clean Water Help pays PALPER’s management costs.
Papua New Guinea · Eastern Highlands · with PNG Safe WaterSponsors needed · classes start February 2027Five top students in Papua New Guinea need funding
Help us send them to university
They earned top grades and want to bring their skills home to their villages, but their families don’t have the income to pay tuition. We only have enough funding for a few. You can help us send all 5!
Our founders and largest donors set aside money for scholarships, so we opened a call in the Eastern Highlands, where we already work on safe water, with PNG Safe Water, a new local nonprofit. Fifteen students applied, and we shortlisted the five below, more than we can fund on our own. Classes start in February 2027. Every dollar you give also frees our own funds for filters in DR Congo and water pipelines in the mountains of the Eastern Highlands.
Meet the students
Shared with each student’s permission.
Read their storiesTheir goals, with a line from each student’s application
Civil engineering · PNG University of TechnologyKaro Kamave
The course clearly states its purpose: civil means people.
Karo is from the village in the Eastern Highlands where we work on safe water. He finished a two-year civil engineering diploma, worked on construction sites, and has applied for the full bachelor’s degree. He wants to upgrade his village’s water supply, improve sanitation and build small bridges for his community.
Civil engineering · PNG University of TechnologyNathan Oronave
I want to use my education to teach the youth in my community to make education their first priority, to respect elderly people, and to be responsible for the services that NGOs and government provide in our community.
Nathan grew up in a remote mountain village in the same district. He has just finished high school, where chemistry was his best subject and his teachers gave him their top rating for leadership. He has applied to study civil engineering and wants to use it on the projects his community needs.
Community health worker trainingMuka Gore
My goal is to complete my education and use what I learn to make a meaningful difference in the community where I come from.
Muka is from the same village as Karo. He wants to train as a community health worker, the staff of PNG’s rural health posts, serve his village, and encourage young people to stay in school.
Community health worker trainingTimothy Olo
My clear aim is to become a qualified health worker. After I complete my studies, I intend to return and serve my community.
Timothy is from the same village. He finished high school in 2025 through PNG’s distance-learning program, taking a full load of math and science, and wants to return home as a health worker.
Master’s in research methods · PNG University of TechnologyPetrus Kisai
I want to contribute to the progress and development of society and the country as a whole.
Petrus already has a degree in political science and a government career. As a senior inspector of village courts, he oversees the local courts that settle disputes in rural communities, and community water projects depend on neighbors reaching agreements and keeping them. He has been accepted into a master’s degree and wants to shape it around the work his community needs most.
What each scholarship provides
- Tuition and school suppliesCosts their families could not otherwise cover.
- A living allowanceFood, housing and family support, so they can study instead of work.
- An internship at homeClean water projects in their home community with PNG Safe Water.
- Professional mentorsVolunteers who help with conferences, résumés, jobs and a career in water resources.
PNG Safe Water, a new nonprofit run by Papua New Guineans, checks on each student in person and hosts their internships.
How you can help
Sponsor one student. Clean Water Help pays the rest of their costs.
Sponsor a studentSponsor one student for a full year and put your company’s name on the scholarship.
Email usWhat sponsors receive. Photos, progress updates, emails and handwritten letters from their student, and a video call.
How the money is handled. Sponsorship renews one year at a time. Students keep their scholarship by earning good grades and making real progress. If a student’s costs for the year come in under $1,500, the balance carries into their next year under the same condition.
Want to sponsor a particular student? Tell us who at impact@cleanwaterhelp.org.
Learn more
The short version is above. Open any section for the details, or download the program report below. To see why we sponsor students from water-poor communities, read our brief on investing in the future of clean water.
Why scholarshipsThe partners we rely on were once students who beat the odds
Clean Water Help funds water filters and pipelines. The long-term way to reliable clean water is to train water professionals from within the communities we serve. In those communities, what stops capable students is tuition and the need to earn money for their families.
Philip Wayaki Bongi, who leads our work in Papua New Guinea, went to university because donors paid his tuition when he was a young adult with no money. That changed his life, led him to a career in monitoring and evaluation, and is why he started a water project for his own community.
Local engineers and health workers are the long-term fix. Scholarships build them one student at a time.
What a scholarship covers$1,500 per student per year, in both countries
| DR Congo, per student per year | About |
|---|---|
| Tuition and registration | $500 |
| Books and supplies | $100 |
| Living allowance (about $100 a month for 9 months) | $900 |
| Total per student | $1,500 |
| PALPER program management (whole program) | $1,000 |
| Whole program, five students | $8,500 |
The living allowance matters as much as tuition. Without it, most students would have to work to support their families and could not study full time. In DR Congo, payments go through PALPER in installments. The first was made once the university accepted each student, and the January payment requires a passed first semester and regular contact with PALPER.
In Papua New Guinea, fees depend on the program, government subsidies and housing, and generally run $1,500 to $2,000 a year. Clean Water Help pays any amount above the sponsorship.
How students are chosenOpen applications, volunteer reviewers, clear rules
- DR Congo: PALPER collected applications online and on paper in June 2026, and 33 students applied. Applicants needed at least 70% on the national state exam and a plan to study a field that builds water and health expertise.
- Papua New Guinea: we ran a call in the Eastern Highlands with PNG Safe Water in 2026, and 15 students applied.
- A panel of CWH volunteers scored every application and averaged the rankings.
- All DR Congo candidates and PALPER were checked against international sanctions lists.
- Sharing a student’s name, photo or story is optional and never a condition of the scholarship.
Why the students changed universitiesThe University of Goma closed less than a month before classes
All five DR Congo students had been accepted at the public University of Goma. When armed conflict closed it less than a month before classes, a year of study was at risk. PALPER gathered the students’ health exams and documents, and Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs, a private university in Goma and one of the leading universities in the region, accepted all five in time to start on October 26. The university’s staff made sure no student had to miss school or wait a year.
The university’s annual fees run about $490 to $625, depending on program and year. The award budgets about $500 for tuition and registration, and CWH covers any difference. Students with more than 70% on the state exam do not need to sit the entrance exam.
Mentoring, internships and what we ask of studentsA volunteer mentor, an internship and good standing
- Each student will have a CWH volunteer scientist or engineer as a mentor, who helps with conferences, résumés, jobs and a career in water resources.
- Students intern with our local partner during their school break. In DR Congo they work with PALPER to design, build, install and test water filters in their own community. In Papua New Guinea they work with PNG Safe Water on clean water projects at home.
- Students share semester results and stay in regular contact with our partner.
- Awards are made one year at a time. Our goal is to support each student through graduation.
Our local partnersPALPER in DR Congo and PNG Safe Water in Papua New Guinea
PALPER is a Congolese nonprofit in Goma, North Kivu. It runs the DR Congo scholarships in person, from applications and registration to school supplies and payments, and it builds the shared water filters Clean Water Help funds in Goma.
PNG Safe Water is a new nonprofit in Papua New Guinea with a PNG-majority board, led by Philip Wayaki Bongi. Local leaders have submitted its incorporation papers to the government, and it should be officially incorporated by January 2027. It oversees the PNG students in person, hosts their internships, and will own and run the community water systems we help build.
We help each partner raise funds and write grants in its own name, then step back as a technical advisor once it can run on its own.
Program timelineFrom the first idea to the first classes
- Feb 2026Philip Wayaki Bongi, our PNG lead, proposes scholarships for young people in the Eastern Highlands.
- Apr 2026Mentoring and scholarship program announced to our volunteers.
- Jun 8–15, 202633 students from Goma apply online and on paper through PALPER.
- Aug 19, 2026DR Congo scholarships awarded. Students and PALPER sign the agreements.
- Late Aug–Sep 2026The government suspends the public universities in Goma. PALPER moves all five students to Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs.
- Sep 22, 2026Sponsors cover all five DR Congo students.
- Oct 2026Fifteen students apply in Papua New Guinea; five are shortlisted.
- Oct 26, 2026Classes start at Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs.
- NowFinding sponsors for the five PNG students.
- Feb 2027Classes start in Papua New Guinea.
- Mid-2027DR Congo students finish their first year and intern with PALPER.
Project ReportStudent ScholarshipsDownload the full project report
How the program works, how students are chosen, why we moved to Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs, what each scholarship pays for, and the Papua New Guinea students. Updated November 2026.
The team behind it
Volunteer scientists and engineers donating their expertise to this project. Click anyone to see their work.
