Water Ambassadors Canada gets innovative to provide clean water to communities around the world.
Can you imagine living through the pandemic without being able to wash your hands? This is the reality for millions of people around the world.
One in three people on the planet does not have access to clean water. Lack of clean water access is the leading cause of death and disease in the world.
More than ever, we have an interest in making sure communities in every country have the resources to prevent disease. Yet, due to COVID-19, the effort to make clean water universal has never faced a greater challenge.
For Water Ambassadors Canada (WAC), 2020 has meant reimagining, reinventing and going local – to Uganda, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Guatemala – working virtually with partners on the ground to reach communities in need of safe, clean water.
In the last few months, as the pandemic took hold, the lives of thousands have been saved and improved thanks to the work that WAC has provided – but it’s required more than a little resourcefulness.
Water Ambassadors relied heavily on teams of volunteers travelling internationally to build infrastructure and provide training. When COVID-19 closed borders, WAC saw an opportunity to take a different approach to its mission of ensuring easy access to clean water and good hygiene practices.
For example, a health clinic in Honduras did not have the proper PPE when the COVID-19 outbreak began. Since WAC’s mission relates to health and hygiene for safety, they worked with existing connections to bring a delivery of PPE to the health clinic. WAC was also able to ship water chlorinators to multiple communities in Honduras and conducted a virtual setup and training over WhatsApp.
In multiple communities within four different countries, teams on the ground have continued to drill wells, circulate chlorination systems, and install water filters and COVID Handwashing Stations…all sponsored by WAC.
The pandemic has also changed the way the charity raises funds for the various projects. “Our fundraising activities have been decentralized,” says WAC’s new Chief Executive Officer Brian Johns. Innovative campaigns, like the (virtual) Fall Water Walk combined with the generous support of Canadian donors are helping to deliver “one of our strongest financial quarters to date”. “As a result of COVID, we have built a stronger more resilient water charity with the foundation to carry us forward for the next decade.”
For more information on Water Ambassadors Canada and how they are making a difference during the pandemic, please visit waterambassadorscanada.org
About Water Ambassadors Canada
Founded by Barry Hart and Heather Alloway in 2002, Water Ambassadors Canada (WAC) is a registered Canadian charity. We take teams from Canada to drill and repair wells, install water purification systems and water filters, and teach health and hygiene classes.
Media contact:
Alyson Fair
Bluesky Strategy Group (for Water Ambassadors Canada)
613 241 3512 x 235
alyson@blueskystrategygroup.com