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| It is never easy to acknowledge an issue if you cannot see it. This global pandemic has cut off aid routes and made it even more difficult to reach people that live in remote areas in developing countries. 45% of us live in rural areas. These remote communities have to deal with the strongest effects of climate change, which they hardly contributed to. In this newsletter, we will provide you with an update on where we stand in our efforts and remind you why we are so involved. |
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| 1 out of 4 people have no access to safe water Water is the base for everything we do. We use it to keep hydrated, to grow food, to make products. However, today, there are still over 2.2 billion people who do not have access to safe drinking water. Compared to the water situation in developed countries, developing nations are having a hard time trying to improve the water situation. The lack of safe drinking water is worse for those people who live in remote areas, who are often forced to drink and use unsafe water; with severe consequences on their hygiene and health. Of all people that lack access to safe water, 67% live in remote areas that are easily overlooked. The latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report made clear that, in order to reach SDG6, we will have to at least quadruple our current efforts in ensuring access to safe drinking water. In case you are interested, please find the full report here. |
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| Madagascar is still facing a severe drought It has been going on for months now. While the media are geared towards the Olympics and COVID impacts on holiday plans, there are half a million children under the age of five who are expected to be acutely malnourished as a result of the drought. Malnutrition among children is expected to quadruple in Southern Madagascar as drought worsens, warn UNICEF and WFP. |
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| Waiting to make water in Tsifota, Madagascar The civil works have finished on-site in Madagascar, the equipment has arrived. The only thing that is pending is that the commissioning engineers and the team of our local partner, TMD, will travel to Tsifota to commission the solar desalination system. This project will produce 20.000 liters per day using only seawater & sunshine. Unfortunately, we have so far been unable to get permission to enter Madagascar. The authorities are very strict, even for development aid/emergency response. We hope to be able to go there in the next months, but remain dependant on access to the country. |
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| Increasing our impact for remote communities this year: Yemen & Madagascar Together with different grant partners and philanthropic organizations, we have also been able to kick-start a project in Yemen together with CARE International. The international NGO CARE has vast experience of development aid in Yemen. They are leading a solar desalination project in the Lahj Governate in Yemen. In this year and the next, we will be supporting their initiative to increase the drinking water supply for over 1.000 inhabitants with 5.000 liters of clean water per day of the sea by the sun. Yemen is facing a similar water situation as the SW of Madagascar, although decades of conflict have worsened the situation greatly. In the meantime, we have also started with the preparation for the third community in Madagascar and are in the process of obtaining all required licenses, permits, and support of the community so that we can quickly accelerate our impact in these remote regions that are facing the effects of climate change. We will be working to generate 30.000 liters per day for this community using the sea and sun. Thank you for your support. We will keep you informed on the progress. |