AHDWIGlobal Humanitarian Network Contact
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Water first. Then everything else people need.

From a spring in Spain to the refugee camps of Chad.

AHDWI is an independent humanitarian network. We bring drinking water and essential relief to people driven from their homes by war, starting with Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad. We stand up for human rights, and we stand with Ukraine.

Our missions Why Sudan, why now
20,000children in Kouchaguine-Moura camp, Chad, waiting for our water
918,000+Sudanese refugees reached eastern Chad since April 2023
≈44 l/snatural flow of our two springs at Alcantud, Spain
4 yearsof groundwork behind this network
Russia's full-scale war against UkraineDay –since 24 February 2022
War in SudanDay –since 15 April 2023

Who we are

Four years of groundwork. In August 2026 our team stood in a refugee camp on the Sudan border. Now we deliver.

AHDWI – Global Humanitarian Network is a non-profit registered in Estonia, with its operational base at the Alcantud springs in Cuenca, Spain. Our mission is to protect human dignity, human rights and humanitarian values wherever people are in danger or left without protection.

We start with water, because nothing else works without it. We will not stop there. Refugee families in Africa also need infant milk powder, food, medical supplies and shelter, and our aim is to grow into a large international humanitarian organisation that can deliver all of it.

Drinking waterInfant milk powderFoodMedical suppliesShelterHuman-rights protection

AHDWI · Global Humanitarian Network

Humanitarian work

Water and relief for people hit by war and crisis. Help for war refugees, and protection for minorities and LGBTQ+ people where they are persecuted, through our Human Rights Centre in Alcantud.

O.T.E.W. Intercultural · Organisation To End Wars

Diplomatic solutions

Our partner organisation, active since 2022. Specialists working, step by step, on diplomatic ways to end wars. More about O.T.E.W.

Missions

What we have done, and what comes next

  1. Groundwork begins

    The team starts preparing the water network and the Alcantud base.

  2. AHDWI founded

    Articles of Association adopted. Registered seat in Pärnu, Estonia.

  3. Mission 1: Kouchaguine-Moura

    Field assessment in the refugee camp in eastern Chad, with Chad's refugee commission CNARR.

  4. CNARR statement

    Chad's refugee commission confirms the mission in a statement to the Government of Spain.

  5. Brussels demonstration

    To turn Europe's eyes to the war in Sudan and call for more humanitarian aid. Moved slightly later on the organisers' advice; the exact date will be announced soon.

  6. Signature in Cuenca

    The Mining Service of Cuenca registers the cambio de titularidad. This one signature is what the water is waiting for.

  7. Water on its way

    Our first goal is to get the water moving to 20,000 children and their families. Demonstrations like Brussels are milestones on that road. We will keep you posted on every mission that follows.

AHDWI's two field representatives with Hassan of CNARR in an office in Chad
With Hassan of CNARR, Chad's refugee commission, who helped our team more than anyone. A former UN official, who once worked in refugee aid in Africa, told us the permits would take three to four months. Thanks to Hassan, we had everything in a couple of days.

Mission 1 · Completed

Field assessment in Kouchaguine-Moura refugee camp

Our project coordinator and logistics lead travelled to eastern Chad to see the camp's water, sanitation and hygiene conditions for themselves. They met local authorities and community representatives, walked the camp and its essential services, and spoke with the families who live there.

About 30,000 people live in the camp, and 20,000 of them are children. Every one of them fled the war in Sudan. Conditions are catastrophic: families depend on aid for every meal and every litre of water. According to camp representatives, these 20,000 children depend directly on the water we are preparing to deliver.

Eastern Chad is one of the most dangerous places our team has worked. On one side is the war in Sudan; on the other, Boko Haram is active in the Lake Chad region west of the capital, N'Djamena. Without an armed escort, robbery is almost certain.

Dates
20–21 August 2026
Location
Kouchaguine-Moura camp, Ouara department, Ouaddaï province, Chad
With
CNARR, Chad's national refugee commission
Focus
Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
Next
The Government of Chad has asked AHDWI to open a representation in N'Djamena.

Mission 1 · Field diary

“Once again, welcome on board.”

The UNHAS flight from N'Djamena to the camps on the Sudan border.

Give the children everything you have. On the road to the camp, our team hands out whatever is in the car. Out here, children have almost nothing.
Everything here comes as aid. Families are shown how to cook on donated stoves. The food, the pots, the fuel: all of it arrives as humanitarian aid. Without it, there is nothing.

With gratitude

The Government of Chadfor organising our mission and our armed protection. Without it, the trip would not have been possible.
UNHASfor flying our team from N'Djamena to the camps on the border.
The European Unionfor the aid that keeps families in these camps alive. Europe, we need you here even more.
Statement by Chad's national refugee commission CNARR on AHDWI's field mission, dated 1 September 2026, with personal names blacked out
CNARR statement, N'Djamena, 1 September 2026 (French original). Personal names blacked out by AHDWI.

Official confirmation

What Chad's refugee commission wrote

Key passages in English translation:

“As part of preparing and implementing its humanitarian water, sanitation and hygiene activities, AHDWI – Global Humanitarian Network carried out a field assessment mission at the Kouchaguine-Moura refugee camp in eastern Chad.”

“Access to sufficient and reliable safe drinking water remains an essential humanitarian need for the refugee population, and a key element in protecting public health and human dignity.”

“CNARR welcomes initiatives that can strengthen access to drinking water and other essential humanitarian aid for refugee populations in Chad, and respectfully recognises the importance of the relevant administrative procedures in Spain being concluded, so that the humanitarian project can move from preparation to practical implementation.”

The key step · Mining Service of Cuenca

One signature in Cuenca stands between this water and 20,000 children.

For Alcantud A, the mining right has been purchased by notarial deed. For Alcantud B, we rescued the mining right: its former owners have passed away, and without us it would have been lost. All access roads are in our hands.

According to the hydrogeological reports, both springs come from one and the same source: a single flow of water that surfaces in two places.

Everything is in place. Only one signature is missing: the Mining Service of Cuenca (Sección de Minas) must formally register the change of title, the cambio de titularidad. With that signature, the water is on its way.

Getting humanitarian aid on its way to Kouchaguine-Moura camp depends directly on this cambio. We cooperate with the Spanish authorities in every way, and we ask that the procedure be completed as quickly as possible.

Sudan · Chad

The war the world is not watching

Most people in the West have barely heard of it. It is the largest displacement crisis on earth, and Europe must urgently pay far more attention.

Since 15 April 2023, Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at war. Tens of thousands of people have been killed. Cities across Darfur and Kordofan have been besieged, bombed and starved, and civilians have been targeted along ethnic lines.

Millions have fled. Hundreds of thousands crossed the border into eastern Chad, one of the poorest regions in the world, where camps run short of everything, and of water most of all. In the desert heat, a family's survival depends on how many litres reach the camp each day.

Millions of people no longer have a home. Europe cannot keep looking away: this war needs our attention, and these people need help now.

9.3 Mpeople displaced inside Sudan
4.4 Mrefugees in neighbouring countries
19.2 Mpeople facing crisis-level hunger or worse
17 M+children in need of humanitarian aid

Sources: UN OCHA Sudan HNRP 2026 · IRC Emergency Watchlist 2026 · Anadolu, Sep 2026 · UNICEF Chad, Mar 2026

Sudan briefing Latest entries first · updated 17 Oct 2026

  • An army drone strike hits a crowded livestock market in Nyala, South Darfur. The RSF-aligned Tasees coalition says 30 civilians were killed, and the RSF and Tasees say 17 women and five children were among them; the army says it struck RSF command centres. The toll has not been independently verified.Sudan Tribune ↗

  • Five children killed and their mother injured when an army Antonov bombed their home in Abu Zaima, North Kordofan, according to the Emergency Lawyers group.Sudan Tribune ↗

  • The UN-backed IPC warns that famine risk is surging across Darfur and Kordofan. Acute malnutrition has reached 38% and 30.8% in two displacement camps in Eastern Jebel Marra, above the 30% famine threshold. The UN plan for Sudan still has a 57% funding gap.Sudan Tribune ↗AHDWI saw this need first-hand in Kouchaguine-Moura camp in eastern Chad: after clean water, infant milk powder is what families lack most. We call on milk powder producers across Europe to send shipments.

  • More than 200,000 people newly displaced in Kordofan since late 2025. El Obeid's population has swollen from about 750,000 to an estimated 3.4 million.Anadolu ↗

  • The UN warns that nearly 400,000 displaced people in North Kordofan face emergency food insecurity. The 2026 UN plan for Sudan has received $1.1 billion of the $2.9 billion needed.Sudan Tribune ↗

  • More than 918,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in eastern Chad since April 2023. The UN expects 1.48 million by December 2026.UNICEF ↗

Ukraine

We stand with Ukraine.

We support Ukraine fully: its people, its freedom and its future in Europe.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking in Kyiv in front of Ukrainian and EU flags
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, April 2022. Photo: The Presidential Office of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Since 24 February 2022, Russia's full-scale invasion has killed tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers, driven millions from their homes and destroyed cities, hospitals and power plants. Ukraine is defending its sovereignty, its people and the right of every nation to choose its own future.

Help Ukraine now. Give directly through Ukraine's official channels on this page.

Help Ukraine directly

Official channels of Ukraine.

UNITED24Official fundraising platform of Ukraine. Choose defence, medical aid, demining, rebuilding or education; funds go to National Bank of Ukraine accounts.u24.gov.ua ↗ Ukrainian Red CrossHumanitarian aid inside Ukraine. Card, PayPal, international bank transfer or crypto.redcross.org.ua ↗
Always donate through the official website. Never send money to accounts shared in messages or on social media.

AHDWI calls on everyone to support Ukraine. Now, and without hesitation.

Help Ukraine directly →
Map of Ukraine showing Russian-occupied areasSchematic map. Crimea has been occupied by Russia since 2014. Large parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions have been occupied since 2022. Kyiv Kharkiv Lviv Odesa Dnipro Zaporizhzhia Kherson Donetsk Luhansk Mariupol Sevastopol CRIMEA occupied since 2014 OCCUPIEDsince 2022 front line

Ukraine under occupation

Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014
Occupied since the full-scale invasion of 2022
Free Ukraine

About 19% of Ukraine's territory, Crimea included, is under Russian occupation. Schematic map; for the exact front line see DeepState.

O.T.E.W. Intercultural

O.T.E.W. calls on Vladimir Putin to withdraw all Russian troops from Ukraine, including Crimea.

From the front · Donbas

30 hits on one bunker. Every one narrowly missed.

This is everyday life for Ukraine's defenders: explosions around the clock. Steel filmed this video inside a bunker in Donbas. During his time there, three of his bunkers burned down.

At the moment he is helping to organise water for refugees from the war in Sudan, and will return to Ukraine afterwards.

Contains the sound of explosions. Published with the consent of the person who filmed it.

Steel, in camouflage and a face mask, holding a rescued kitten in a forest in Donbas

Freedom fighter · Donbas

No one left behind. Not even a kitten.

Steel, a long-time member of our team, is an Estonian volunteer fighting for Ukraine's freedom in Donbas. His unit brings together volunteers from the United States, Brazil, the Czech Republic and many other countries. On the zero line they leave no one behind: when they evacuated, Steel carried this kitten out with him.

For now he is helping our team, before he returns to the front.

Evacuation means thinking of everyone. That is the spirit we bring to our humanitarian work.

Morale · Donbas

Even in the hardest times, morale comes first.

Steel confirms it: morale among Ukraine's soldiers is high. Not once has anyone thought of giving up, and no one will.

Front-line tracker

Net change in territory per week. Who took more ground?

WeekNet changeGained groundSource
≈117,100 km²of Ukraine under Russian control, about 19% (incl. Crimea), as of 13 Oct 2026
≈2,050 km²Russia's net gain over the past 12 months, about 190 km² a month
14 km²Russia's gain in May 2026, its smallest month in three years
Net weekly change from DeepState, the Ukrainian open-source war map, as compiled each week by Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. Figures converted from square miles and rounded; sources revise their data, so small differences are normal. Live maps: DeepState · Institute for the Study of War

Ukraine briefing Latest entries first · updated 17 Oct 2026

  • UN Migration (IOM) warns that Russian attacks put millions of Ukrainians who have returned home at risk of displacement this winter. Last winter only 32% of Ukrainians could heat their homes adequately, and far fewer in front-line regions.Kyiv Independent ↗

  • Pope Leo asks Putin for a ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky so aid can get in and civilians can leave. About 2,000 residents remain trapped with severe shortages of food and medicine.Kyiv Independent ↗AHDWI supports Pope Leo's call. We likewise call on Putin to agree to a ceasefire so that people can move to safety and aid can reach them.

  • Russia launches more than 850 drones at Ukraine between early Wednesday and Thursday morning, hitting Kropyvnytskyi and the Dnipropetrovsk region.ABC News ↗

  • Russia fires 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones at Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast and Kharkiv, days after the announced "energy ceasefire". Five people are killed and 25 injured in Kyiv, all three of the city's heat and power plants come under attack, and 600,000 people lose power.Kyiv Independent ↗

  • A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia kills 20 people, including three children. It is the third mass-casualty attack on Ukrainian civilians that week, after nearly 80 were killed on Wednesday and Thursday.Al Jazeera ↗

  • US, Ukrainian and European officials meet in Miami to discuss a proposal to end the war, covering security guarantees, energy, grain exports and reconstruction.Al Jazeera ↗

The world today

Wars being fought right now

Most of us in Europe live in safety. Elsewhere, these wars each kill more than 10,000 people a year.

Major wars 10,000+ deaths a year each

  • Russia's war against UkraineUkraine, Russia
  • Sudan warSudan, spilling into Chad, South Sudan, Libya
  • Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle EastPalestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen
  • Myanmar civil warMyanmar
  • Conflict in eastern DR CongoDR Congo and neighbours
  • Somali civil warSomalia, Kenya, Ethiopia
  • Islamist insurgencies in the SahelMali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and more
  • Mexican drug warMexico, Central America

Based on the list of ongoing armed conflicts, which draws on UCDP and ACLED data. October 2026.

Programmes

What we do

  • Water for refugees

    Chad · Sudan · Somalia · Gaza

    Medicinal mineral water from our Alcantud spring for people displaced by war, starting with Kouchaguine-Moura camp in eastern Chad. We help wherever civilians are at risk.

    First mission

  • Beyond water

    Sub-Saharan Africa

    Infant milk powder, food and medical supplies for refugee families, delivered alongside water as the network grows.

    Next

  • Human Rights Centre, Alcantud

    Cuenca · Spain

    A centre that stands up for minorities, refugees and LGBTQ+ communities where they face persecution, and raises cases with the competent authorities and international bodies.

    The centre is in development. Residences for staff are under construction.

    In development

  • Watchdog and casework

    Independent civil-society monitoring

    Help for people caught in the gears of bureaucracy or corruption. We document violations, publish research reports and submit findings to international institutions.

    Starting

  • Register of democracy prisoners

    Russia · Belarus · authoritarian states in Africa and worldwide

    A global register of people imprisoned for defending democracy and free speech, built so that anyone, anywhere, can support them and their families directly.

    No one's personal data will be published without their informed consent.

    Long-term goal

Alcantud · Castilla-La Mancha

Our base: two springs in the Guadiela valley

AHDWI leases the Alcantud site in the province of Cuenca, home to two natural mineral springs, Alcantud A and Alcantud B. The water was declared mineral-medicinal in 1978, and both springs were recognised as natural mineral waters in 1992 and 1993.

Spring A is medicinal mineral water dedicated to charity, permanently. It will never be sold: every litre is reserved for people in crisis. Spring B is meant to fund the work over the long term through bottled water, so relief does not depend on donations alone.

The change of title (cambio de titularidad) for both springs is being processed by the Mining Service of Cuenca. Getting humanitarian aid on its way to Kouchaguine-Moura camp depends directly on this cambio. We cooperate fully with the Spanish authorities and ask for the procedure to be completed quickly.

The site's water plant has stood idle for about 30 years. We are restoring it as a solar-powered facility, and turning the main house into the coordination centre of the network.

Under constructionStaff residences
In developmentHuman Rights Centre
PlannedWater plant restoration
AHumanitarian springMedicinal mineral water · for charity, permanently≈22l/s
BSustainability springFunds the programmes≈22l/s
ΣCombined≈44 l/s≈3.8 Ml/day
1978Declared mineral-medicinal water
1992–93A and B declared natural mineral waters
~30 yrsWater plant idle, now being restored

Flow rates are approximate, based on historical records and IGME surveys.

Waterfall on the Guadiela river near Alcantud
The Guadiela river below the springs
The main house on the Alcantud site
Main house, future coordination centre
Row of residences with exterior staircases
Staff residences, under construction
Water cascading over the rock by the springs
Waterfall by the springs
Aerial view of the Alcantud site
The site from above

O.T.E.W. Intercultural · Organisation To End Wars · since 2022

A world without war.No nations. No borders.

O.T.E.W. Intercultural is AHDWI's partner organisation, active since 2022. The two work as one: AHDWI is dedicated to humanitarian work, O.T.E.W. to diplomatic solutions. We believe in diplomacy as far as it is possible. O.T.E.W. brings together specialists who develop ideas and work, step by step, toward a balance in the world in which wars end. The work is under way.

A world without wars is a goal for the future, and we pursue it only through lawful, peaceful means and international cooperation. We respect the law of every country we work in.

O.T.E.W. calls on Vladimir Putin to withdraw all Russian troops from Ukraine, including Crimea.

O.T.E.W. Intercultural · Organisation To End Wars

Grow with partners

We are looking for organisations and people who share this way of thinking, to grow AHDWI into a major international humanitarian organisation.

Work with institutions

We seek cooperation with European Union institutions, including the European Commission's humanitarian aid department (ECHO), and with humanitarian and human-rights organisations worldwide.

A voice at the UN

Over time, we intend to obtain consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

How we work

Principles

Need decides

Aid goes to whoever needs it most, regardless of nationality, religion or origin. Humanitarian help must never depend on political or economic interests.

We stand with Ukraine

We support Ukraine fully and without hesitation.

Independence

Our own water source and long-term income model keep our decisions free from outside pressure.

Safety of people

We follow the GDPR. Information that could put a person or their family at risk is never made public.

Equality

Women and men have an equal role in our work. We welcome experts and volunteers from every country.

Contact

Ideas, partnerships, questions: write to us

Whether you represent an organisation, want to volunteer, work in the media or simply have an idea, we want to hear from you.

info.ahdwi@proton.me
Organisation
AHDWI – Global Humanitarian Network MTÜ
Registered
Pärnu, Estonia
Base
Alcantud, Cuenca, Spain
Opens your e-mail app with the message addressed to us.