WHO WE ARE
Mission
To improve the quality of life of the underprivileged by expanding access to clear water and energy solutions.
Vision
A world in which no one suffers for lack of access to clean water and energy.
Values
-
Justice
We believe everyone should
have a fair chance in life -
Compassion
We care about and have
empathy for others -
Commitment
We give it our all and fight
to the end -
Authenticity
We are genuine and
true to ourselves -
Integrity
We always strive to do
the right thing -
Accountability
We take responsibility for
what we say and do -
Respect
We value the cultural traditions
of those we seek to help
Timeline
2003–2007 Getting Started
2003 Lifeline founded by Daniel Wolf in December
2004 Conducted first fact-finding/exploratory missions in Asia and Africa
2005 Piloted first cookstove project for displaced persons in Uganda
2006 Launched clean water and humanitarian cookstove initiatives in Uganda • Partnered with AID on cookstove project in Darfur
2007 Stove project in Darfur declared a “Success Story” by AID • Launched institutional stove project in Uganda
2008–2012 Digging Roots
2008 Commenced commercial stove program in Uganda • Constructed stove factory in Lira
2009 Launched stove project for Somali refugees in Northeast Kenya
2010 Launched stove project for families displaced by earthquake in Haiti
2011 Reached a 250,000 stove milestone
2012 Rolled out EcoSmart stove brand in Uganda
2013–2020 Scaling Up
2013 Partnered with Coca-Cola Foundation to create universal water access in Apac District of Uganda • Launched Community Health Club (“CHC) hygiene/sanitation initiative
2014 Commenced partnership with ClearWater Initiative
2015 Partnered with WFP to build local cookstove capacity in Burundi
2016 Completed merger with ClearWater Initiative
2017 Launched SAFE cookstove project for Sudanese refugees in Uganda • Launched Everflow preventative maintenance initiative
2018 Partnered with UpEnergy on production of Smart Home stoves
2020 Reached a 500 borehole milestone • Partnered with Carbon Sink to secure carbon credits for stove program
2021–2025 Innovating
2021 Launched solar electrification initiative (“PowerBlox”) for Sudanese refugees in Uganda • Partnered with charity:water to develop and install remote water sensors
2022 Launched drip irrigation initiative
2023 Constructed inaugural piped water system
2024 Partnered with WFP to install institutional stoves in schools across Karamoja • Partnered with the Uptime Consortium to help scale EverFlow
2025 Patented and launched the “Dan Can”
Our Legacy
Dr. George Wolf
Born in Prague in 1934, George fled to the United States with his parents at the age of five, several months after the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. As a Jewish refugee growing up in the rugged streets of Newark, New Jersey, George struggled through a challenging childhood, feeling as if he did not belong and turning to narcotic drugs to relieve angst and depression.
Blessed with an outstanding intellect and an unsurpassed ability to focus, however, George rose from his hard circumstances, enrolled in night school at Rutgers University, went on to earn his Ph.D. from Yale, and ultimately served on the faculties of Mount Sinai Medical School, the State University of New York at Purchase, and New York University as a distinguished professor of neuropsychology and a pioneer in the study of sodium appetite.
As a father who stood squarely in his children’s corner, George imbued in his son, Dan, the core values that he has carried with him his entire life – authenticity, integrity, generosity, commitment, compassion and justice – values that lie at the heart of the two charitable organizations that Dan would later found in his father’s name and honor in 2003: the George Wolf Memorial Trust and the George Wolf Operating Foundation, which one year later became the International Lifeline Fund.
Throughout his too short time on this earth – he died of lymphoblastic lymphoma in October 1983 at the age of 49 – George emphasized the importance of “making a contribution” in life. He spoke proudly of the extent of his own contributions to science and philosophy given “where he had come from” and, through his example, passed on to his son an irresistible compulsion to make contributions of his own.
The International Lifeline Fund is George’s legacy. The contributions that George made during his life did not stop with his death. They live on through his son and are embodied in Lifeline’s values and in everything it has done and will do to make this world a better and more just place for everyone.
ClearWater Initiative
Captain Ben Sklaver
A graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Benjamin Sklaver was a U.S. Army captain assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division’s civil affairs unit. In 2006, Ben began serving a two-year tour of duty in Uganda. There, he witnessed young children drinking filthy water from stagnant pools, many of whom would lose their lives from preventable water-borne diseases.
Determined to do something to prevent this needless tragedy, Ben returned to his home in New Haven, spread word of what he had seen, raised the needed funds, and established the ClearWater Initiative to provide clean water infrastructure to remote villagers in Northern Uganda’s war-torn Gulu district. As a result of his efforts, more than 13,000 people across the region gained access to fresh drinking water and Ben earned the affectionate moniker of “Moses Ben”.
Two years later, in 2009, Ben was redeployed to Afghanistan, where he was killed by a suicide bomber while on patrol near the Afghan border. For the next six years, Ben’s friends and family joined forces to complete the work that Ben had started and, on January 1, 2016, they took a momentous step in that direction by forging a merger between ClearWater and Lifeline. With that merger, these two like-minded two organizations have achieved far more together than they could have separately and, hence, are doing more to honor Ben’s profound legacy than ever before.