World Water Day Celebration at EnviroForensics HQ in Indianapolis
Brings Local Community into a Global Event on March 22, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indianapolis, Indiana
March 1, 2018

Local Environmental Engineering Firm Partners with Local Charity
To Raise Money for Micro-enterprise Program in Nicaragua
Training Young Women in Clean Water Initiatives

Water for Empowerment, an Indianapolis charity focused on clean water and sanitation, is celebrating World Water Day on March 22 with both an online fundraising campaign and a reception hosted by EnviroForensics in the Central Business District, downtown. In the past two years, the local environmental consulting firm has partnered with Water for Empowerment to raise more than $60,000 for a micro-enterprises project in the poorest region of Nicaragua. In the Bilwi region of that country, 800,000 people live without access to clean water while two million live without adequate sanitation. A micro-enterprises program, operated by WaterAid America, addresses the crisis by training young women in hygiene education and clean water technologies.

Environmental engineers and scientists at EnviroForensics share technical expertise with WaterAid personnel in Nicaragua while the charity, Water for Empowerment, raises money for jobs training in the construction of water wells, water filtration systems, rain catchment tanks, and sanitary latrines. The mission of Water for Empowerment is to empower women and girls to build healthy lives through clean water initiatives. During the month of March, the charity and the environmental firm hope to raise $15,000 toward a $30,000 goal for the micro-enterprises program. Approximately forty young women, often at risk of being trafficked into sexual slavery due to poverty, receive training as hygiene educators and construction managers. Education about the value of clean water and sanitation precedes any construction activity, as awareness creates the market for wells, catchment tanks and latrines.

Says Steve Henshaw, CEO of EnviroForensics, “We invite people in Indianapolis to learn more about the global water crisis. Organizations like WaterAid provide sustainable solutions around the globe. Since 1982, they’ve helped 44 million people gain access to clean water and sanitation. We support just one of their many projects that provide long term solutions.” The open house reception on March 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 825 N. Capitol Avenue, is being held on the U.N.’s designated date for annual celebrations of World Water Day. Pre-registration is recommended but not required.

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For more information about the World Water Day event, Water for Empowerment or EnviroForensics, please contact Jackie Cabrera, jcabrera@enviroforensics.com or 317-972-7870.