In 2014, 650 million people lacked access to clean water—more than 2 times the population of the United States alone. Simultaneously, more than 2.3 billion people live without basic functional sanitation.
As a result, every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. 6 Waiākea was founded to create positive change for not only the environment, but also for people in need throughout the world.
For every liter of Waiākea you buy, Waiākea donates 1 week of clean water to those in need in Africa and throughout the world, through our incredible partner, Pump Aid.
We realize not everyone is able to have access to clean, essential drinking water- our goal is to change that.
Source: “2014 Update: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation
37 percent of those that lack access to clean water live in Sub-Saharan Africa, a number that will increase dramatically over the next 10 years.
One of the many reasons why Waiākea chose to partner with Pump Aid was because of its focus on Malawi. If you look at the UN average daily per capita water consumption figures, the data is startling- Malawi is one of the lowest in the world at 15-20 liters per day.
To give you some perspective, Americans use on average 80 – 100 gallons per person per day, or about 378 liters.
But that’s not all. For millions of people living in extreme poverty in rural Malawi, access to safe water is truly a life-or-death challenge. Dirty water and poor sanitation are directly attributed to the leading cause of under 5 mortality, and the 2nd leading cause for adults.
Together with your help, we can reverse these statistics.
Source: “2014 Update: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation”
Securing safe and sustainable water supplies in rural Malawi involves a comprehensive approach that puts communities at the very center. Our teams work closely with community members to identify the most suitable site to install PumpAid’s award winning Elephant Pump. Our building teams dig the well, build the body and assemble the pump’s interior mechanism, while the community provides the necessary materials and assists with assembly. Working with local volunteers helps to give communities a feeling of ownership of the project and to pass on pump building techniques to ensure sustainability. Local labourers then have the technical skills to build or maintain pumps on their own, increasing district pump building capacity.
Our community empowerment teams are engaged with each village right from the start to properly assess every village’s need, ensure participation, as well as to conduct baseline surveys to ensure proper project monitoring and evaluation.
More than 1.35 million people now have access to safe water and basic sanitation in some of the most vulnerable areas of Africa as a direct result of Pump Aid’s work. In Malawi alone, they have delivered over 4,230 pumps that serve more than 487,600 people a day.
The impact Pump Aid has made with the help of Waiākea is measurable: more children in school, fewer people with preventable water-borne illnesses and malnutrition, and more time for women to devote to other needs. We are adamant that our product can change and save lives. Waiākea’s goal is to expand throughout sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years.
We are extremely proud of this partnership. If you want to learn more about Pump Aid and their life-changing projects, click here.
The Kama’aha Education Initiative is committed to advancing academic success for Native Hawaiians by piloting, implementing and supporting science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs and systems that are grounded in past and present Native Hawaiian knowledge.
Located in Keaukaha on the island of Hawaiʻi it is uniquely positioned to provide services that meet the educational needs of Native Hawaiians.
When its mission is achieved, Native Hawaiian communities will be thriving and empowered, possessing the skills necessary to advance their educational, financial, social and political interests for their sustained success and active participation in the global community.
Kamaʻahaʻs primary educational partner is Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo charter school located in Keaukaha on the island of Hawaiʻi.
If you would like to learn more about the Kama’aha Education Initiative, please click here.
