2013
Design Outreach became a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and the first permanent LifePump was installed in Zolomondo, Malawi. It would serve as a case study to prove the incredible transformation that occurs when a community receives a sustainable source of safe water. This installation turned Greg and Abe’s dream into a reality that would grow to change hundreds of communities across the globe.
2014
As part of the Hundred Pump Project in partnership with World Vision, Design Outreach continued installing LifePumps across Africa. Two were installed in Ethiopia, one in Kenya, one in Malawi, and two in Zambia.
2015
While LifePump installations continued and new partnerships were formed in Haiti, the engineering team developed and piloted the first remote sensor for LifePump.
Design Outreach hired its first part-time staff members to help with growing operations.
2016
LifePump installations began in Mali.
Haiti’s first LifePump was installed in Raymond Jean Bois.
The independent review of the LifePump pilot project with World Vision reported promising results, which the team presented as abstracts at two conferences.
The development of LifePump150, able to reach up to 150 meters below ground (nearly 500 feet), commenced when the Design Outreach team saw the need for deeper drilling in many communities.
2017
In 2017, Design Outreach’s first full-time staff joined the team.
Thirty more LifePump installations occurred across Africa and Haiti, resulting in a total of 50 communities served.
The team began developing an updated LifePump remote sensor and designing Design Outreach’s self-closing valve, LifeTap™.
2018
Design Outreach successfully installed the first LifePump150 in a 430-foot well in Moulin, Haiti.
Field testing began for LifeTap and an updated remote sensor, officially named LifePumpLink™.
LifePump installations began in South Sudan, and the team made plans to return to Central African Republic where the idea for LifePump was first imagined.
At the same time, the Zambian and Malawian governments moved forward with anticipated national acceptance of LifePump.
The autoLifePump™ project commenced.
2019
To grow the Research & Development (R&D) department, Design Outreach began its support-raising program, which has allowed the addition of many professional engineers to the team.
The first permanent LifePump in Central African Republic was installed.
Stateside, Design Outreach moved into a larger office to accommodate its growing team.
LifePump received official national acceptance by the government of Malawi.
2020
The Malawi Field Office opened in the nation’s capital city of Lilongwe, while the Zambian government issued national acceptance of LifePump.
Zimbabwe received its first LifePump installations, and the LifeLatrine™ project commenced.
LifePumpLink continued to develop with the launch of its new dashboard.
In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Design Outreach field staff began COVID outreach by distributing face masks, bars of soap, and hygiene training. The team also helped share the Gospel and distribute Christian literature, including Bibles, in the local language.
2021
Design Outreach installed its first LifePumps in Central America, reaching 7 communities in Guatemala.
The Malawi Field Office guesthouse opened, allowing Design Outreach to host teams of staff and volunteers.
The LifePumpLink mobile app was released, while the R&D team completed the oxygen humidifier project, Design Outreach’s first
project in the medical field.
Design Outreach launched its Fellows program, welcoming global engineering experts to the team. The total number of full-time equivalent team members reached nearly 20.
2022
Members of the Design Outreach team met with Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera to share the vision of Design Outreach and the transforming power of LifePump. The meeting confirmed that Design Outreach has grown from just a dream to an internationally recognized humanitarian organization with
global impact.
The Zambia Field Office opened, paving the way for similar countrywide impact in Malawi’s neighboring nation.
Design Outreach began completing community assessment reports to provide supporters with detailed information about communities in need of LifePump and to provide greater connection between those we impact and those who make Design
Outreach’s ministry possible.
The Engineering Solutions team launched the latest version of LifePump as well as the India Mark II/Afridev Handpump Upgrade Project, designed to expand reliable access to safe water in communities that don’t yet qualify for a LifePump. The R&D team also began working on developing a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device.
DO’s staff reached nearly 30 full-time equivalent employees.
2023
To support the negative pressure wound therapy device work, the team launched DO Medical LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Design Outreach.
Design Outreach earned the prestigious Excellence in Giving Transparency Certificate.
The first LifePumps in Tanzania and Senegal were installed.
Field testing of LifeLatrines commenced in Malawi.
The Engineering Solutions team developed a concept for the negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device.
Design Outreach celebrated 10 years of impact at the 2023 Galas in Columbus, Ohio, and Wakarusa, Indiana.
