Happy World Water Day! This year, to celebrate World Water Day, we’ve partnered with Upworthy to highlight the power of clean water and create two inspiring videos about how our Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program is helping empower women around the world.
In our first video, you’ll meet Bechibila who is committed to educating her community about the critical importance of clean water. In the second film, meet three more amazing women entrepreneurs who are leading business women in their communities now that they have access to clean water.
These amazing women live near Saboba village in Northeastern Ghana in communities that are part of World Vision’s Area Development Programs (ADPs). World Vision is one of our largest CSDW implementing partners and our collaboration in emergencies and rural community programs have reached families in more than 40 countries – literally from Afghanistan to Zambia – including some of the poorest and most remote places imaginable. We have been working together in Ghana for more than 4 years initially providing the P&G packets for emergency efforts to fight cholera and then as an ongoing effort to provide clean water until more permanent, community water solutions can be established.
Bechibila and her two sons live alongside her extended family members and she is a seamstress who volunteers as health educator. Her inspiring story of how she goes house to house to teach people in her community how to avoid illness from the open water sources they rely on. Nena is a farmer who helps her neighbors understand the important connection between clean water and their health. When she was ill from waterborne disease, she could not afford the fees for books for her children and they frequently missed school.
Joana is a seamstress who runs a very successful business now that she and her children have access to clean water. Like Nena, when she was ill from waterborne disease, she missed work and her children’s education was disrupted. Today, with clean water, her business is thriving as are her children in school.
Fusenia is a nurse for whom every day is ‘take your child to work day’. As she demonstrates how to use P&G packets in the health clinic where she works, her young daughter sleeps soundly in the sling on her back. In her demonstration to the community members visiting the clinic on market day, the transformation of the water is an important teaching point and helps her to promote the other critical health related behavior changes like handwashing and proper sanitation.
We’re also sharing stories about other champions dedicated to creating healthy communities and more innovative technologies that are helping to address the global water and sanitation crisis. You can learn more on our Upworthy CSDW story hub here.
In Latin America, we have partnered with Fox/National Geographic to produce a 60-minute documentary segment to raise awareness about the water crisis in the region and our CSDW efforts in Argentina, Brazil, Panama and Costa Rica. The program will be televised in 10+ countries from now until May 2017. To see the subtitled trailer spot, click here
As the world celebrates on March 22, we are grateful for our many partners who help us advocate for clean drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene as part of UN Sustainable Development Goal #6 and implement the CSDW Program around the world. P&G will continue to play our part to transform lives every day with clean drinking water as aim toward our goal to provide 15 billion liters by 2020.
Happy #WorldWaterDay!