Where Surfing Servants Gives
Guided by faith and strengthened through global partnerships, Surfing Servants brings clean water to communities around the world. Each place we serve is more than a destination, it’s a community we’re committed to walking alongside for the long term.
Please explore the countries we serve and the wonderful people we get to help. (Click on a country or Scroll Down to see all countries)
Countries Served
Filters Given to Families
People With Access to Clean Water
El Salvador
Each year we travel to El Salvador where, to date, we have been able to provide over 300 families in the La Libertad region of El Salvador with life changing Sawyer Clean Water Filters. These filters remove 99.99999% of bacteria from their water and will last for 10 years.
We are proud to partner with La Red Church located in the coastal town of El Tunco. through this partnership we have reached familes, schools, churches, and trained up local government health officials on the use of Sawyer water filters. La red provides the access, support, follow up and credibility to ensure the success of our clean water mission in El Salvador.
“We use the filters to benefit many families and as a way to eliminate illness such as diarrhea. I am grateful as a representative of public health for the unconditional support.”
– Jose Luis, El Salvador Public Health Official
“I wanted to reach out and share about how your partnership with La Red is changing lives down here in El Salvador.
Last week, La Red hosted a team from Daybreak Leadership College (from North County San Diego). Together, we were able to follow up on pediatric work from April by using the water filters. Last month, our pediatrician team flagged several families suffering from parasites due to unclean water. Along with providing anti-parasite medicine, the doctors “prescribed” a water filter to each family.
The Daybreak team went out into the community to deliver 21 water filters to those same families. Not only did we install the filters, but we also shared the Gospel with every single family that was flagged in April. Several people made the decision to follow Jesus because of this distribution
This experience with the filters and seeing the Gospel in action deeply impacted the students.”
– Pastor Josh Geisinger, La Red Church – El Salvador
Kenya
Since 2023 Surfing Servants has delivered over 200 Sawyer bucket filters to Africa. We work in conjunction with Pastor Mike Sandberg and his team at API USA who conduct medical and missionary trips several times a year to areas of Kenya including Bondo, Siaya, and Turkana. These areas have no running water and must draw their water from streams or lakes that contain bacteria filled water. Cholora is a common waterborne disease that these Sawyer water filters have helped to prevent. In addition, the filters remove botulism, typhoid, amoebic dysentery, streptococcus, salmomella, and giardia. They also remove 100% of microplastics.
Mexico
Mexico lies just across the border from where we live, yet their drinking water situation is worlds apart. In most areas, even the piped water is contaminated. We have distributed hundreds of filters to many regions of Mexico including Cabo San Lucas, Tijuana, Guaymas, Playa Brasil, Punta Mita, and San Juanito. Surfing Servants works with numerous organizations, including Calvary Chapel in Cabo San Lucas and Homes for Hope in Tijuana to ensure that families have clean and safe drinking water.
Dominican Republic
In 2023, we provided 150 clean water filters to five communities in the northern coastal region of Sosua in the Dominican Republic. These communities are cared for by two incredible non profits, Go Make A Difference (GoMad) and Love Does. The water filters will last for 10 years and provide 150 families with clean water in the D.R.
Pakistan
The country of Pakistan is near and dear to our hearts. We have supported a church in Khanewal Pakistan since 2023 by providing water filters and financial support. Pastor Asif Khurshid started the church in 2015 and supports and runs an orphanage, sewing school for young women, rehab for drug and alcohol addiction and provides outreach to those working in the brutal brick kiln industry (link to brick kiln article here)
Pakistan suffers the same poor water issues that the rest of the developing world faces. We have been able to provide Sawyer Clean Water Filters to help relieve some of those issues.
Pakistan is 99% Muslim and Christians are considered the lowest caste and subject to cleaning sewers and working the brutal brick kiln industries as indentured servants. At best it is a difficult enviroment to be a Christian in, at worst it can be very violent with church burnings and beatings. Our goal is to support Pastor Khurshid as he shares the love and kindness of Jesus with the population. In addition to water filters we have contributed to help the sewing school, rescue families from brick kiln indentured servanthood, and build a church building.
Uganda
In the past year we have delivered clean water filters to the mountainous ,coffee producing region, of Rwenzori Uganda. Our partnership with Vista Bean Coffee has brought clean water filters to these villages for the first time. Vista Bean is a coffee shop in Oceanside California that supports the villages of Rwenzori by purchasing the coffee produced there. They also provide much needed social, medical, and philanthropic support to the local Ugandans for many years. We are proud to partner with them to help eliminate waterborne diseases in the area that are prevalent in their water sources.
In a seperate area of Uganda we have provided clean water relief by providing water filters to several refugee camps in Uganda including Nakivale, Rwanwamta, Kyaka II, and Kyangwali. The settlements serves as a primary location for long-term refugees, particularly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, escaping conflict.
Burkina Faso & Rwanda
In 2024 we partnered with Amor Europe, contributing to their kingdom commerce project in Burkina Faso and Rwanda with the goal of delivering tens of thousands of water filters over the next 10 years…To date, 249 filters have been distributed to communities in the Bobo Dioulasso area of Burkina Faso and the Muhanga District of Rwanda bringing life changing clean water to the familes there. There have already been measurable health improvements due to the effectiveness of the water filters including a reported 84% improvement in water related sickness or symptoms.
This is a decade long project that we will continue to support with Amor Europe so that we may positively effect the lives and welfare of as many families as possible.
“I wanted to share a heartfelt gratitude and update on how Surfing Servants generous donation and support is making a lasting difference and to personally thank you for your incredible partnership..It is helping families in Rwanda and Burkina Faso break free from water poverty.”
– Phil Savage, Clean Water Lead – Amor Europe
Columbia and Guatemala
For many years we have partnered with Los Angeles based Pastors Zach Straster and Daniel Ortega who evangelize around the world. We first met them when they were traveling to Pakistan and they introduced Sawyer Clean water filters there. After seeing the benefit and incredible life changing potential of clean water filters they have taken them to many other countries including a community in Guatamala that is bult over a trash dump and a community in need in Columbia.
These critical partnerships are what help us give clean water to those who deperately need it.
Lahaina, Maui - Disaster Relief
There are occassions when disaster strikes and emergency water use is critical. This is where Sawyer clean water filters can be a huge help. Surfing Servants stands ready to help in these situations.
On August 8th, 2023 a fire swept through the town of Lahaina in Maui, litterally wiping out an entire community of businesses and homes. As with most fires, it knocked out the power that allowed the local governement water treatment plants to operate. When this happened all water was declared to be contaminated and a “boil water notice” went out. Clean water was in high demand for several weeks after the fire. Surfing Servants were able to send several filters over to help clean the bacteria out of the water until power could be restored.
We are always looking for ways that we can help others in need immediately!
Panay Island, Philippines - Disaster Preparedness
The Philippines are hit by an average of 8-10 typhoones a year. They bring destruction, flooding and major clean water issues.
In 2025 a volunteer firefighter on the island of Panay reached out to us seeking help with preparing for the seasonal typhoon season (June to September). When the typhoons hits, the power goes out and all water sanitation plants cease to work.
By providing these filters to the fire department there, they are now able to use them during these disasters and provide clean, usable water to those on the island!
Bangladesh, Satkhira
Satkhira Bangladesh Pastor Billo Blossoming Hope Orphanage
A local San Diego Pastor Peter Taylor made us aware of an orphanage in Satkhira Bangladesh that had a critical need for clean water. The children were drinking water out of a old rusty well and, as with most water stored in these countries, it sat open and susceptible to bacteria. E. coli and Cholora are bacteria most prevalent in this part of the world
Drinking contaminated water, causes stomach ailments, diarrhea and, in the most severe cases, death to young children.
We contacted Pastor Billo who runs the orphanage in Bangladesh and determine that Sawyer bucket filters would be the best fit for their needs… These Sawyer bucket filters will remove 99.99999% of the bacteria in the water, improving health and economics by allowing the kids to drink clean water without getting sick and without having to pay exorbitant prices for bottled water.
The miracle of these filters is each one will last for 10 years and filter hundreds of thousands of gallons of clean water for the orphanage.
Malawi, Africa
We are very excited about our latest project in Malawi Africa. We have partnered with an incredible non-profit Open Roads Global to provide Sawyer clean drinking water filters to the village of Mulanji. This community has experienced three years of famine and has a major lack of access to clean water and healthcare when they get sick from the bad water. A medical group recently assessed the villagers and felt that the best thing would be for the kids to have access to clean filtered water.
All of the filters will be placed in three different community spaces. One is in a local preschool with 72 children.
These Sawyer water filters will last the villagers for 10 years and remove disease carrying bacteria, protozoa, and microplastics from their daily drinking water. This will be an ongoing project with many more water filters for other villages to come!!
A big thanks to the founders of Open Roads Global, Sarah and Anson Overbay, who have been providing education, health, and economic oppurtunities to the people of Malawi for many years!
