How We Started

SAWA Global Foundation was established by Daphne Nederhorst, Founder and Executive Director.

Daphne was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Tanzania, East Africa. Daphne had the unique opportunity to visit remote communities in some of the most poverty stricken areas of the world. She was deeply touched with the problems in these areas while being mesmerized with the strength of the local people to find positive and innovative solutions to meet their basic needs. Daphne felt a strong sense of responsibility to help these communities. She wanted to create a more equal world for all citizens and made a conscious decision, at the age of 8, to make this her life’s mission.

Daphne has since visited and worked in over 35 countries. She has traveled to remote villages in India to film community projects; worked with nomadic tribes in Kenya to study the impacts of aid project; developed innovative tools to select sustainable water supply for urban slums in Tanzania and South Africa; collaborated with international organizations such as the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) and worked with abused an neglected orphans in Colombia.

During the last 25 years, Daphne has met hundreds of extraordinary people and organizations that offer powerful solutions to the global problems of poverty, tropical diseases and environment degradation. Daphne felt that the global media needed to play a stronger role to tell these “stories of change; a new media that would empower the world’s poor and inspire all citizens to instantaneous actions for global change to assist these leading initiatives.

Daphne’s purpose to establish SAWA Global is to give the unknown heroes from the world’s poorest countries a voice via video; to celebrate their successes; to inspire citizens of all nations with ideas for global change; and to connect YOU to these heroes directly.

To learn more about Daphne Nederhorst go to the SAWA'S BLOG

India Kenya (Masai Tribe) Colombia (orphanes)