Water for Empowerment honored World Water Day on March 22 with New Sponsorship Levels for WaterAid Nicaragua’s Micro-Enterprises Project for Young Women Working in Clean Water Technologies
Platinum Partners $5000
Provide Funding for WASH (Water & Sanitation Hygiene) Services
For Schools & Healthcare Facilities
Gold Partners $2500
Provide Funding for Bore Hole Drilling & Well Services
Including Manual Rope Pump Installation
Silver Partners $1000
Provide Funding for Six Week Vocational Trainings
In WASH Education, Disinfection & Cleaning Services for Latrines,
And Hand Dug Wells and Rope Pump Repairs
Bronze Partners $500
Provide Funding for Sanitary Latrine Construction & Maintenance Services
For Interested Sponsors, Please Contact Nancy Shields– nshields@eniroforensics.com
Water for Empowerment, an Indiana-based organization devoted to empowering girls and women to build healthy futures through clean water initiatives, received 501c3 status in 2015 and supports WaterAid’s micro-enterprise project in a three-year partnership. Through partners such as EnviroForensics, Brandt Construction, Vapor Protection Services, Attorney Richard Van Rheenen and the Robert Knox Trust, the charity raised $30,000. With tax-exempt status, the organization is able to collect money or in kind donations for various water projects and will acknowledge donors by written receipt the amount of charitable contribution for tax deductions.
Water for Empowerment utilizes the expertise of volunteers in environmental science professions to make clean water accessible to communities in need, with a primary goal of creating opportunities for women to become key stakeholders and empowered leaders in the projects. While the 501c3 status marks a new beginning for the organization, for over three years the volunteers of Water for Empowerment have built partnerships with other non-profits and private sector companies specializing in clean water and sustainability for developing nations.
Currently, Water for Empowerment is partnering with WaterAid America to raise awareness and money for micro-enterprises for young women in the Bilwi region of Nicaragau working in areas of sanitation, well rehabilitation, water filtration, and hygiene education. On the ground in Bilwi, WaterAid offers job skills training to women ages 16 to 30 that takes them from writing business plans to educating and developing their own business markets. By educating the community on the value of clean water and sanitation, the young women are able to build a demand for clean water products and services. The young women lead crews in construction of latrines and wells. As the young women succeed, so do the communities, which thrive in sustainable ways that bring about healthier futures for everyone involved.
Dawn Sandoe, president of Water for Empowerment, comments, “ We have learned a lot about development and sustainability from our partnerships with organizations like WaterAid America, International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC), Puralytics, which manufactures the SolarBag, and GSMalawi. We are able to offer financial support in addition to providing education on clean water technologies. Our underlying purpose, however, is to facilitate the involvement of young women in the initiatives and help them gain admission into the educational cycle and redefine their value to their communities as leaders and activists.”
