Initiative: Eau is pleased to announce it has received a $21 000 USD grant from the International Foundation. These funds will support H2Odata.city.fada, a project to improve water infrastructure monitoring and maintenance capacity through the training and responsibilization of local groups in Fada N'gourma, Burkina Faso.
Fortified local monitoring and maintenance capacity improves quality and reliability of drinking water services. As such, H2Odata.city.fada is projected to result in a 66% reduction in the number of water infrastructure breakdowns and an 83% reduction in the amount of time water infrastructure remains non-functional after breaking. These reductions lead to increased access to safe water and diminished use of unimproved water sources, whereby reducing rates of water-borne disease.
Initiative: Eau's approach is to work with existing drinking water infrastructure, not to implement new built features. Instead, the organization builds local capacity to monitor and maintain existing water infrastructure by transferring knowledge of adequate monitoring and maintenance practices to appropriate local groups. In this way, Initiative: Eau ensures that existing systems operate at full capacity while being led by local actors, two objectives that are in direct alignment with its mission.
"This grant from the International Foundation will help Initiative: Eau to reinforce access to safe drinking water for thousands of citizens living in Fada N’gourma. We are grateful for this support in our pursuit of safe water access for all. This grant will finance 66% of the H2Odata.city.fada project, set to begin within the next few months," said Donald Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of Initiative: Eau.
The International Foundation makes one-year grants to US-based 501(c)3 organizations which partner with communities in the developing world for results that are measurable, with broad and lasting impact. 501(c)3 grantees must hold a development vision as a framework for any charitable ends. They must demonstrate a deep understanding of the local context and what will or won’t work within it.
H2Odata.city.fada will be implemented by Initiative: Eau and its partners beginning in October 2018 and will run for a projected duration of 8 months.
About Initiative: Eau
Initiative: Eau is an American 501(c)3 non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to increase the safety and quality of drinking water services in developing areas. The organization currently conducts programming in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. Its vision is a world where everyone has access to safe drinking water.Initiative: Eau is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Initiative: Eau’s approach is human-centered, and data-driven. As such, data represents a common thread that links its programs. Each uses data to inform strategic decision-making whereby rendering available financial and human resources for development efforts better targeted and more effective.
