Why solving the world's water crisis means more than just quenching thirst
Six hours. For some, this amount of time is a typical workday spent tapping away at a laptop. For others, it's a Sunday spent watching football and bonding with family.
But in some parts of the world, six hours is the amount of time a child may have to wait for a glass of clean drinking water. Women, kids, and other members of underserved communities often journey far from their village in search of the nearest water source or wait in long lines to collect it. This layer of the global water crisis — the sheer amount of time stolen from families who have to struggle to keep clean water in the house — is often overlooked.
Stella Artois and Water.org are partnering to #GiveThemTimeBack to people around the globe who lack easy access to clean water. The two organisations have had a relationship since 2015; to date, their partnership has helped provide more than 1 million people in the developing world with access to five years of clean water through the sale of more than 500,000 Limited Edition Chalices, and a direct donation of more than $8 million to Water.org. Last year, the companies announced a multi-year commitment to the partnership with a goal to reach 3.5 million people through their collaborative efforts by 2020.
Stella Artois recently announced that it will be adding a new component to its annual limited-edition chalice sales. This year, sales of packs of Stella Artois and pints of the beer sold at pubs around the UK will also contribute donations to the non-profit. Buying one Stella Artois helps provide a family in need a full month of clean water.
Collaborative efforts that combat the crisis from the ground up
“Partners play a key role in everything that we do. We are not doing this work alone," says Melanie Mendrys, Water.org's director of brand marketing & communications. "We have partners that range from Stella Artois to partnerships with a financial institution in the countries in which we work.”
Water.org's model focuses on empowering communities through sustainable financial solutions that bring water and sanitation improvements to 14 countries around the world. The organisation works with local microfinance institutions to establish a water and sanitation loan portfolio that local communities can invest in.
Mendrys outlines a recent scenario where this benefit became evident: Leneriza, a woman who lives in the Philippines, connected to the local water utility through a loan that she got from a Water.org partner. Whereas she used to pay a water vendor $60 a month directly, she now pays just $4.50 a month — and the loan that enables these lower bills will take her less than a year to pay back.
That level of savings is significant for families living in parts of the world where the water crisis is most pronounced. In fact, according to data by Water.org, $260 billion is lost globally each year due to people spending so much time in search of clean water. Those hours add up each week — and they detract from families' ability to earn income or contribute to the local economy.
Access to clean water ultimately filters into other societal layers, too. Women and children, for example, are often in charge of the task of collecting water. These cohorts benefit greatly from the time saved by having access to safe water at home; instead they're able to spend those hours each day on education, work, or community activities.
Health, safety, and survival metrics also rise when families have clean water at their disposal. Water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases kill nearly a million people every year — but in countries with access to clean water and improved sanitation, the percentage of people afflicted by such illnesses dramatically decreases.
The Stella Artois + Water.org partnership is novel for both parties: For Stella, it is the brand's first foray into a global social impact campaign; for Water.org, it's the first brand partnership of this scale.
“It’s going to take a lot of us coming together to approach this massive problem in new ways,” says Julie LaGuardia, head of brand partnerships for Water.org. “We’re so excited to have this partnership as a foundation for that growth.”
Want to help #GiveThemTimeBack? Learn more about how you can contribute on the Stella Artois website, or donate directly to Water.org here.
Topics Activism Social Good Sponsored
