Water For People ayudará a más de 100.000 ugandeses a tener acceso a agua potable gracias a una subvención de la Fundación Conrad N. Hilton

LA ASOCIACIÓN AYUDARÁ A FAMILIAS, ESCUELAS Y CLÍNICAS CON UN SISTEMA DE ENTREGA DE AGUA DE ALTA CALIDAD Y LA BASE INSTITUCIONAL PARA QUE ESTOS SERVICIOS DUREN POR GENERACIONES

DENVER, January 5, 2017 — Water For People believes every person around the world deserves lasting access to safe water, and to help realize this vision it has received a three-year, $3 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in support of its work in the rural Kamwenge District of Uganda. With this grant, Water For People and its local partners will now be able to accelerate and scale their efforts significantly and deliver high-quality water services to over 100,000 people. This partnership puts a strong emphasis on the Forever aspect of Water For People’s Everyone Forever impact model, which increases demand for reliable quality water within the communities served and partners with local government and private sector institutions to create the enabling environment for these services to last.

"Water For People is thrilled to begin working with the Hilton Foundation. Our model for impact is well aligned with the Foundation’s strategy for sustainable water access, and we are grateful for the opportunity to embark on this long-term partnership. Together, we will make Everyone Forever a reality and transform the lives of over one hundred thousand people in Uganda, creating impact that will last for generations and a roadmap to end the global water crisis within our lifetime," according to Water For People CEO Eleanor Allen.

Uganda is one of nine countries where Water For People works and is one of the world’s poorest nations, with a population of more than 39 million people, nearly half of whom are younger than 15. Life expectancy in Uganda is 58 years, per World Bank data, and most of its population relies on subsistence farming, which makes it extremely difficult for children to break out of entrenched family poverty.

A lack of basic services is the main reason why so many in Uganda struggle to survive. Uganda’s official rate of drinking water coverage is actually high – at 79 percent (UNICEF/WHO JMP 2015 Update). But the reality of broken-down pumps and a low quality and quantity of drinking water means families spend hours each day sourcing water at the expense of time spent in school, generating income, or raising children. This pattern will continue until the cycle is disrupted.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Water For People and are excited by the opportunity to make a meaningful difference for future generations of Ugandans," said Peter Laugharn, president and CEO for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. "Water For People’s Everyone Forever model seeks to provide a clear and sustainable path for Uganda, one which aims to ensure that every person, health facility and school has lasting access to safe, reliable and affordable water."

Algunos de los resultados esperados de esta subvención de la Fundación Hilton incluyen:

• Acceso sustancialmente mayor y duradero a agua de alta calidad, con aproximadamente el 50 por ciento de la población local obteniendo acceso al agua en su propiedad
• Construcción de nueva infraestructura y ampliación de la existente para abastecimiento de agua potable.
• Conocimientos, capacidades e instituciones locales creados para apoyar y gestionar los sistemas
• Las instituciones locales trabajan en conjunto para mantener y ampliar los sistemas a medida que aumenta la demanda de acceso al agua.
• National government and additional sector partners use the work in Kamwenge as a model for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #6
• Las mujeres y las niñas ya no tendrán que ir a buscar agua todos los días y podrán centrarse en obtener una educación, ganar un ingreso y/o criar una familia.

Part of Water For People’s Everyone Forever model’s success is attributed to its emphasis on reporting and data, as well as the priority it places on bringing a system’s users into the process with educational programs designed to stimulate demand and teach them how to hold their local institutions accountable. The Hilton Foundation’s grant is particularly timely considering that there are new Ugandan government regulations which prioritize the development of high quality water systems and taps in homes. Water For People and its partners in Kamwenge will be working with others across Uganda to share their experiences and learnings so that they can benefit even more people.

Acerca de Water For People

Fundada en 1991, Water For People, con sede en Denver, Colorado, cree que todo ser humano merece un acceso duradero a agua potable y saneamiento. Su modelo de impacto, "Todos para siempre", utiliza la coinversión y el desarrollo de capacidades con socios locales, y emplea una recopilación y presentación de datos líder en el sector. Este enfoque a largo plazo está impulsando una transformación en la forma en que opera el sector WASH debido a su enfoque en la prestación de servicios sostenibles y la entrega de ayuda. Este enfoque logra mejoras significativas en la salud, el acceso a la educación y la prosperidad. Water For People, un líder reconocido en el desarrollo internacional, actualmente trabaja en tres continentes, en nueve países y 30 distritos en todo el mundo, desde Bolivia hasta Malawi y la India, y brindará servicios a más de 7 millones de personas en 50 distritos a nivel mundial durante los próximos 10 años. Obtenga más información en WaterForPeople.org.

Acerca de la Fundación Conrad N. Hilton

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. In 2016, the Humanitarian Prize was awarded to The Task Force for Global Health, an international, nonprofit organization that works to improve health of people most in need, primarily in developing countries. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 billion in grants, distributing $107 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2015. The Foundation’s current assets are approximately $2.5 billion. For more information, please visit Fundación Hilton.16