Mr. Tut Goes to Washington
Aqua-Africa’s Executive Director Testifies before Congress
August 1st was a big day for our Executive Director, Buey Tut. While he’s become accustomed to delivering Aqua-Africa’s story to crowds throughout the country, rarely has an opportunity like speaking before Congress presented itself.
The hearing, entitled “The Impact of U.S. Water Programs on Global Health,” was held before the subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. The goal of the panel was to examine the effectiveness of U.S. Government funding for international water programming. 
“This was an amazing situation for Aqua-Africa for so many reasons,” Tut explained upon returning to Omaha. “First, it is just wonderful to know that our efforts here in Nebraska are being acknowledged and validated by our leaders in Washington.” “Additionally,” he continued, “this was an opportunity to tell Aqua-Africa’s story to a group of people in a position to significantly influence policy.”
“As the ranking member of the House Africa Subcommittee, I was pleased to invite Mr. Tut to testify and to share his organization’s many accomplishments” noted Congresswoman Karen Bass of the 37th District of California. While there are hundreds of water well organizations out there, Aqua-Africa’s unique philosophy of “development over aid” is what set the organization apart. “Aqua-Africa has effectively employed a model of using clean water as a foundation to introduce MicroDemocracy and Resource Management to South Sudanese communities,” Tut explained. “The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has taken notice of our strategies and will be keeping an eye on our progress.”
Video footage of the hearing is available House Committee on Foreign Affairs website: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-impact-us-water-programs-global-health.