Providing lifelong access to safe drinking water for school children in Madagascar
Co-funding with the ALMT allows individuals, other Trusts and Foundations, and Companies to contribute funds directly to individual, vetted and approved, project partnerships. With fifteen years of experience awarding grants and working in partnership with children’s organisations around the world, the ALMT is best placed to support you in your philanthropy.
Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental right for everyone, including children, who often face the dire choice of drinking unsafe water or none at all. One school in two has no access to clean water, and UNICEF estimates that almost 600 million children will lack safe drinking water within the next 20 years.
With 77.8% of the population living below the poverty line (with less than $1.9 per day), Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to statistical data from the Ministry of National Education, 85% of primary schools are not supplied with drinking water. Each year, 3.5 million school days are lost in the country due to waterborne diseases. Unsafe water significantly impacts children’s education: hydration and cognition are linked, and a lack of safe water will alter the ability of a child to focus, learn and recall.
1001fontaines’ mission is to design and deploy sustainable solutions to provide safe drinking water to vulnerable populations. Working with local partners and communities they establish water production units which treat ‘raw’ water and distribute 20L bottles which is sold at affordable prices, and freely distributed to schools and health centres.
The initiative, supported by local authorities, has demonstrable social impact, the ability to induce sustainable behaviour change, and economic and operational viability. Local Madagascan partner Ranontsika, has launched an industrial urban factory in Tamatave, the country’s second-largest city and has developed a unique offering of high quality, affordable drinking water packaged in 20L recycled jerricans.
ALMT funding will provide safe drinking water to 8,000 of the 16,000 pupils in 12 primary schools in Tamatave, representing 50% of the planned impact for the upcoming academic year. These students, aged between 5 and 12 years, come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and lack access to safe water at home. The project will also run workshops, raising awareness on the importance of hygiene and the consumption of safe drinking water for health among the pupils and teachers.
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