A child from Kalungwishi village, one of those who will benefit from BWCA's support. © Just a Drop
The British Water Cooler Association (BWCA) is to launch a major charitable giving programme by pledging support to the Just a Drop charity.
The launch of the charity partnership with Just a Drop will be officially announced on 17 March 2016 at the forthcoming BWCA Conference, with fundraising events arranged at the trade show which follows that afternoon and at the gala dinner the same evening. Phillipa Atkinson-Clow, BWCA general manager, has described it as “one of the most exciting developments of 2016 for the association”.
Just a Drop provides drinking water and sanitation to communities in developing countries. Specifically, the BWCA and its executive council have chosen to raise funding for a borehole project in Kalungwishi village in Zambia. The project will provide clean drinking water for the village whose inhabitants currently have no access to clean safe water, resulting in waterborne disease striking every week.
Just a Drop founder Fiona Jeffery OBE said: “We are very excited to welcome The British Water Cooler Association as one of our new partners. This partnership will make a positive and significant difference to the people of Kalungwishi who will now have the opportunity to access clean water. Thank you on behalf of everyone at Just a Drop; we look forward to working with BWCA and to supporting further communities in need.”
The BWCA’s target is to raise nearly £10,000 to help Kalungwishi village, which exists in a state of real poverty as there are no local health services and there is no access to safe water.
Most people draw water from unprotected hand-dug wells or river-beds often some distance from their homes. The water is not safe or clean, which has a massive impact on their lives. There is a very high prevalence of waterborne diseases in the village, particularly affecting the young and the elderly: in the village, there are four to five cases of diarrhoea per week per family because of the poor quality of drinking water. Children, particularly girls, have to fetch the water from a distance away which often means they are unable to attend school – 30% of eligible children do not attend primary school. Moreover, the cost of buying necessary medicines is high and household income is low, resulting in real hardship.
In the village, Just a Drop will drill a borehole to a maximum depth of 70m and equip it with a hand pump, enabling the community to reach clean and safe water. To ensure that water will be available into the future, community-elected women and men will be trained and equipped to work together to repair and manage the water systems. Just a Drop will also provide hygiene education, to ensure people stay healthy.
The benefits of providing the borehole and pump will include a healthier community, as all inhabitants will be able to access clean water and will no longer be forced to drink unsafe and unclean water; children will be able to spend more time at school; women will have improved productivity as there will be no need to fetch water; and hygiene and sanitation will both improve.
Phillipa Atkinson-Clow said: “We take drinking water for granted here in the UK except when the occasional emergency arises. Whether from a cooler, bottle or the mains, we are fortunate enough to have access to clean water for drinking and sanitation. It is great that the water cooler industry is supporting this practical project which, because it is a borehole that will last for many years, will help many people now and well into the future.”
BWCA chairman John Dundon added: “We will be arranging an auction and trade show events to encourage giving to this worthy cause and hope to get this initiative off to a flying start. I’m delighted that BWCA is starting this corporate social responsibility programme which has the full support of the executive council of the BWCA and will carry on throughout the year.”
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