11-13-2026 2:36am

Kalahari’s $50 Million Pledge for Clean Water in Africa

John Williams Editor

By John L. Williams, Editor, The Spotsylvania Gazette

THORNBURG, Va. — As Kalahari Resorts celebrates its grand opening in Spotsylvania today, a project launched by the Nelson family’s company is already bringing clean drinking water to communities in Africa. Kalahari pledged $50 million in 2023 to help one million people gain access to clean water. A 2025 progress report says completed projects were serving more than 52,000 people.

Kalahari calls the initiative The Water Colors Life Project. Its partner, the nonprofit charity: water, says the pledge allocates $40 million to clean-water projects and $10 million to the nonprofit’s operations. Kalahari’s founders, Todd and Shari Nelson, have traveled to Africa over the years, and those trips helped shape the design and artwork at their resorts.

Where the work stands

The 2025 report puts the number of people served by completed projects at 52,479. It estimates that 268,444 people will gain access through projects that were complete or underway when the report was prepared. That larger figure includes the people already served.

Donations in 2025 funded work in ten countries, including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda. The report also tracks donations connected to guest stays. It gives figures for the partnership as a whole.

With Kalahari’s fifth resort now open in Thornburg, a question for local guests is how their stays might support the project. The 2025 report does not give a Spotsylvania-specific contribution.