Bentley has also donated a selection of eight software products from its portfolio, including MicroStation, WaterGEMS, SewerGEMS, FlowMaster, and Bentley Map. The software will be used by Water For People team members to design, engineer, and construct water systems, as well as to map the functionality of water points in every district. Team members will access the software through Bentley’s STUDENTserver self-serve website, which will enable them to download, at no charge, current and future versions of the software and provide them with access to training and technical support.
Water For People teaches local communities in Africa, Central and South America, and India how to build, manage, and maintain water and sanitation systems, and to build capacity that ensures the systems can be operated and maintained at levels appropriate for each community. Bentley is a global sponsor of Water For People, with many of its colleagues - including Bentley COO Malcolm Walter, who serves on the organization’s board - volunteering their time to the organization.
Ned Breslin, executive director, Water For People, said, “I want to thank Bentley not only for its generous contributions, but also for its long-standing corporate commitment to sustaining crucial infrastructure, including water systems, around the globe. Its funding and donation of software for cost-effectively designing and building water and wastewater systems, along with the enthusiastic volunteer work in support of our programs by many of its colleagues, will help us continue to have a significant positive impact on the communities we serve. With the continued support of corporate partners like Bentley, we may one day see an end to water poverty everywhere.”
Added Malcolm Walter, “Improving quality of life for people around the world is an essential part of Bentley’s mission. It’s what investment in sustaining infrastructure is all about. All of us at Bentley Systems are very pleased to support the crucial and amazing work that Water For People is doing sustaining water systems in areas currently struggling to provide communities with adequate supplies of safe drinking water. Very recently, on a trip to Bolivia, I was able to see firsthand the difference this wonderful organization is making in people’s lives. I saw the happiness in the faces of villagers who now have running water at their doorstep instead of 3 to 5 kilometers away - something that we in the developed world take for granted.”
He continued, “Water For People’s ‘Everyone Forever’ vision is for every family, every school, and every health clinic in the areas it works to have access to improved water and sanitation on a sustainable basis. Through the hard work and dedication of the volunteers behind this organization, partnering with local governments and municipalities and empowering people to be the architects of their own solutions, this vision of clean, safe water for everyone, forever, is becoming a reality.”
About Water For People
Water For People is a nonprofit organization that brings together local entrepreneurs, civil society, governments, and communities to establish creative, collaborative solutions that allow people to build and maintain their own reliable safe water systems. Empowering everyone transforms people’s lives by improving health and economic productivity to end the cycle of poverty. For additional information, visit www.waterforpeople.org.
About Bentley Systems, Incorporated
Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Bentley Systems applies information mobility to improve asset performance by leveraging information modeling through integrated projects for intelligent infrastructure. Its solutions encompass the MicroStation platform for infrastructure design and modeling, the ProjectWise platform for infrastructure project team collaboration and work sharing, and the AssetWise platform for infrastructure asset operations - all supporting a broad portfolio of interoperable applications and complemented by worldwide professional services. Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 3,000 colleagues in 50 countries, more than $500 million in annual revenues, and since 2005 has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.