WASH for Life: Looking Back on 2025

2025 was a monumental year for WASH for Life and the Starfish Family. This year, we introduced the “Arms of the Starfish” – the various branches of our non-profit expanding our mission for clean water and education – and everyone made significant strides. Between fundraising, outreach, and our trip to Malawi, the impact you have made has never been greater.

By the Numbers

Within the scope of WASH for Life, including GRO and MUHS Starfish, 2025 saw the implementation of 22 new borehole wells. These wells spanned 4 districts, including Lilongwe, Zumba, Blantyre, and Mzimba. Nkhukwa and Chimutu 1 schools in the Lilongwe district both received 2 wells in their communities, serving the largest populations of learners at 2,005 people in Nkhukwa and nearly 3,000 at Chimutu 1. At the St. Joseph school in the Zomba district, the borehole serves a completely female population, providing clean water and subsequent access to education for 1,987 learners. From all 22 boreholes, a total of 24,046 students can now acquire clean, safe drinking water within their communities without having to compromise their health or their education. Of those 24,089 learners, 10,503 are male and 13,586 are female. In addition to the 40 other borehole wells already in existence before 2025, slowly but surely, the effort to bring clean, sustainable water to Malawi is finding firm roots and growing exponentially. Together, the various Arms of the Starfish have now broken ground on a grand total of 62 wells since 2017. 

Return to Malawi

2025 marked the 3rd annual trip to Malawi, and it was bigger and better than ever! This year, members of WASH for Life, Starfish MUHS, and GRO were joined by Salesforce for a truly unforgettable trip. Our return to Malawi this summer was so successful, in fact, that there are discussions for not only 1, but 2 trips in 2026. We have been hard at work updating our website with all the information on what the Malawi trip looks like, why we visit every year, and how you can get involved, whether in person or through donations. Reflecting on the trip to Malawi in 2025 also helped us develop a better understanding of what it means for different people, in different contexts, to travel abroad and experience new cultures. In 2026, we hope to emphasize how vital these stories are from a personal, community, and global perspective. It makes our work at WASH for Life so much richer and fulfilling to know the people and places we are so passionate about. 

You can visit our Malawi Trip page for more detailed information and see what other trips have been like, as well as read about the 2025 trip and Salesforce from our Article Page.

People are the Heart 

At the core of our mission are people – the people we serve, first and foremost, but also the people who dedicate their time, talents, and thought to the Arms of the Starfish. In 2025, we welcomed several new consultants to our marketing team to share their expertise and help us develop ideas, create new tools, and expand our outreach. We also officially inducted Tom Lawry onto the WASH for Life Board as Director of our finances! While on our trip, we forged an incredible partnership with the Salesforce team and Tricia Bayer of Richard’s School of Dance; both have also been providing their time to our marketing team. At MUHS Starfish, President Colin Hamer made his first visit to Malawi, along with his younger brother Nolan and mother Sarah. He was joined by GRO’s Sophia Kwacz and her father, Jason, in their first visit. Both groups have continued making great strides in their individual organizations, especially as they near college and are hoping to set up the next generation of passionate young people. The various Arms of the Starfish made 2025 another year of groundbreaking fundraising numbers, outstanding and impactful presentations, and building connections across Wisconsin and the nation. In Malawi, we continued to strengthen our business relationships and friendships, trained more new technicians, and were able to support the community outside of the wells. Our trip gave us the opportunity to bring clothes, toys, games, and school supplies, as well as simply 

meaningful time together. 

Thank you, Donors! 

None of our mission would be possible without the enormous and continuous generosity of our donors. From day one, it has been your trust in us and confidence in the heart of our journey to provide clean water that has kept us going. You have put wheels on the ground, drills in the earth, and pumps on the spouts. You have provided safety for these infrastructures, allowed our teams to travel far and wide, and given us the opportunity to update and fix mechanisms when needed. Without your donations towards wells, we would not be able to organize everything that goes on behind the scenes. 

Every well creates a lasting impact – one which we may never know the true extent of. It’s not just clean water you’re providing, but education, health, safety, security, stability, community, nourishment, and employment. Whether you were a start-up donor back when GRO first began or provided funding just last month, know that your generosity has made an impact. Whether you contributed to help maintenance costs or donated an entire well, know that your generosity has made an impact. Water for life, is life. With your generosity, all $186,571.74 of your donations were used to build wells and provide new sources of life in 2025. Thank you, donors! 

Moving Forward in 2026

2025 was a spectacular year of progression, improvement, and growth. We expanded our outreach to new groups, honed our ability to spread awareness effectively and impactfully, and brought water to a record number of learners. In 2026, we plan on another spectacular year with no stop to our momentum – only new ideas, invigorated passion, and continued learning as we set new goals for the future. We hope to inspire as many people as we can to join the cause, and through it all, to keep our hearts and minds focused on the mission. In 2026, we want our ‘New Years’ goals not to be focused on self-improvement, but on improving the lives of others. We encourage you to ponder: how can I make a difference? Can I make a donation? Donate my time or talents? Contribute my ideas? Can I make others aware? Whatever goal you set, it will make an impact. Every starfish counts! 

On another note, 2025 was also the year the penny was deemed non-essential in our monetary system and discontinued from production. At WASH for Life, however, we believe that even the smallest change can make a difference. In fact, we have some new ideas for the penny…look out, 2026! 

Thank you to everyone who engaged with us this year, in whatever manner or capacity that was. Whether you attended a presentation, kept up with our social media, attended a trip, volunteered to help, or donated monetarily – thank you! Our work is not possible without you. 

YOU make a difference! Thank you for a wonderful 2025!