UKWTA Member BRITA UK Support Challenge to Raise Awareness of Global Water Issues
On 21st and 22nd March, World Water Day, the Blackbird Leys based African Caribbean Youth Group will take part in a sponsored challenge to see what it's like for the 1.1 billion people who live without access to safe drinking water (1). After learning some water saving techniques from a family in Namibia (2) whose only water supply comes from a crocodile and hippo infested river, the youth group will have to collect all the water they use from a source approximately one kilometre away - without using a car.
The water challenge is part of a local project sponsored by VSO Voluntary Service Overseas (2) to raise awareness about how precious a resource, fresh water is and to encourage local people to waste less. Dolcie Obhiozele,(3) the African Caribbean youth worker, who has herself lived in Nigeria, says "It will be a real eye opener for these young people to realise that in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa they wouldn't be able to have a hot shower whenever they felt like it". The young people will have to decide as a group how they use the water they collect – for cooking, flushing the toilet, or for showers. And who does the collecting!
In developing countries it is usually the women or young girls who spend up to 3 hours (1) and 85% of their energy (4) on collecting water for their families, preventing many girls from attending school. Often they carry on their head a 20 litre container of water, weighing 20 kilos or the amount of baggage allowance for a flight. (5)
The youth group are using the challenge to raise funds for a trip to Ethiopia in 2009 as part of their learning about their African heritage.
Bicester based BRITA Water Filter Systems Ltd have donated a grant to support the event. Corporate Affairs Manager, Anna Gilbert commented "We are pleased to support this Oxfordshire initiative to raise awareness of the plight of communities around the world who do not have access to safe running water."
For further information:
- www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/factsheet.html
- This will take the form of a 22minute DVD showing how one family in Namibia collect and use water each day. For details of this and the VSO project contact Janet Machin 01869 340742 janetmachin275@hotmail.com
- Dolcie Obhiozele 07877284936 dolcie.obhiozele@oxfordshire.gov.uk
- www.unhabitat.org
- www.whmet.org
- www.vso.org.uk
BRITA Supports UNICEF Drinking Water Project in Vietnam
Since the beginning of 2007, BRITA, has been supporting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in a project entitled "Drinking Water for Village Children in Vietnam", to which the company has contributed an annual six-digit sum of money. Additionally, the company also collects donations for the project at its internal events. Approximately one year after its partnership with UNICEF began, BRITA is very proud of the project results achieved so far. The company has helped to supply a total of 180,000 people in 79 villages with clean drinking water and improve hygiene there. The model latrines which UNICEF has developed for schools are now intended to become a national standard. And the project's success story continues: just recently, the programme was expanded to include six provinces in the north of Vietnam.
Markus Hankammer, CEO BRITA GmbH stated "The initiative is part of BRITA's corporate culture. Since we are the leading global brand on the water filtration market we consider ourselves responsible for drinking water projects throughout the world. Clean water is a human right. Together with United Nations Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF, we want to do our best to ensure that this right is granted to children in the poorest countries."
For further information visit www.brita-support-unicef.net
