Retired professional tennis player Johan Kriek founded the organisation in 2005 after attending meetings of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa.

[1] Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with offices in Sarasota, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina, in the United States,[2] the GWF's goal is to raise public awareness, contribute technical assistance and fund programs to improve water quality and provide adequate sanitation in schools, rural areas and other communities across developing nations.

The project was so successful that it quickly expanded outward from the school grounds and today serves the surrounding area of 15,000 people with clean water.

Mayor of Manta Jorge Zambrano attended the event, which featured a dinner of Ecuadorian fare and live and silent auctions.

In addition to the GWF's Web site, the organisation opened a Virtual Education Center in the online community Second Life.