We recently had a customer ask for more detail around where the funds donated by AquAid to the charities we support, are used.
An excellent question – one that prompted this update, which also provides a more in-depth look at how and where the donated funds are utilised.
THE AFRICA TRUST PROJECTS
From the ground up, The Africa Trust, using donations from AquAid, has helped fund orphanages, improve clinics, pay school fees and provide skills training; giving millions of children and adults the opportunity to rise above their circumstance and strengthen their community. Part of this sustainable development includes providing access to clean productive water and decent sanitation.
Eighty percent of donations from AquAid to The Africa Trust fund the building of water wells (affectionately referred to as Elephant Pumps).
To date, over 8,000 wells have been built, servicing more than 2 million people in communities across Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Of the 8,000 pumps installed, 95% are still in operation today – a figure 40% above the average for the continent.
Each pump can produce up to 10,000 litres of potable water per day, supplying upwards of 300 people in the village or community – who are now able to collect clean drinking water and water for productive use every day.
CHRISTIAN AID PROJECTS
Donations from AquAid to Christian Aid have resulted in the building of a number of potable water resources. One such project in Malawi was the implementation of a solar powered irrigation system. These solar powered systems help communities have access to safe drinking water while also providing water for agriculture.
Currently in Malawi, Christian Aid is involved in a project aimed at breaking the poverty cycle. Funds donated by AquAid are being used to help farmers produce larger pigeon pea crops and better manage their share in the produce markets. Pigeon peas are drought-resilient, producing harvests with just 65cm of annual rainfall. Pigeon peas are a produce vital to Malawi’s economy: 6 million tonnes were sold worldwide in 2018.
In Ethiopia, donations from AquAid have funded the establishment of a number of localised water points and access to potable water – one such project was the construction of a 2.7 million-litre pond, providing drinking water to more than 1.5 million head of livestock that, in turn benefits 28 communities in two districts. Previously these households would spend many hours each day searching for water and the herdsmen (usually young boys) would travel for up to a month trying to source water for their livestock. With access to water close by, these resources free up time, enabling children better access to an education and adults more productive time daily.
Other projects have involved building twenty-one shallow wells in southern Ethiopia, the construction of a water catchment and underground reservoir providing potable and productive water to thousands of people in neighbouring communities and a water pipeline network with well points, which has brought clean water to more than 11,000 people.
If you and your organisation, as have our over 34,000 customers, would like to find out more about how installing a water dispenser from AquAid translates into the sustainable provision of safe water projects for communities in need, contact us today. There truly is no limit to the amount of lives you can help change for the better, for life.
