Water.org, Bank of America Expand Partnership to Bring Safe Water to India and Brazil
Without a home water tap, Manjula had no choice but to carry an 8-10 liter water container back and forth each day to a community water tank about a kilometre from her home. Water.org discovered that something keeping moms like Manjula from providing safe water for their families was a lack of access to the financing needed to construct a water tap. This insight led to the creation of WaterCredit, enabling people in need with access to small, affordable loans.
It’s smart, simple and sustainable. More importantly, it helps the people Water.org serves address their immediate need and continues to enrich their lives long after the original loan has been repaid.
For Manjula, the loan allowed her to construct a water tap at home. Now the time she used to spend collecting water each day can be used caring for her children. And with more time and energy to invest in caring for the kakada flowers she sells, Manjula can earn 2,000 rupees a month – enough to repay her loan.
With the help of partners like Bank of America, Water.org is empowering millions of families, like Manjula’s, to solve their water and sanitation challenges and create a better life. Water.org received a $3 million grant over three years from Bank of America to empower more than 2,50,000 people in southern India and Brazil with safe water and sanitation, accelerating positive change in their homes and communities.
This announcement builds on previous grants which, including this announcement, total $4.25 million to Water.org since 2011 from the Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation.
This new grant funding will also enable Water.org’s local implementing partners to mobilize $21 million in local capital that they will use to provide water and sanitation loans to the under- and un-served.
“With support from Bank of America Charitable Foundation, we have made great progress in providing access to safe water where it’s needed the most,” said Gary White, CEO and co-founder of Water.org. “With this new grant, we’ll be able to reach more than a quarter of a million more people in India and Brazil.”
The grant will advance the following key objectives:
1. Accelerate market-based financial approaches for expanding water and sanitation access for the poor
2. Leverage the remaining years of the Swachh Bharat Mission in India to accelerate access in one of the largest and most advanced markets for microfinance solutions to the water and sanitation crisis. Introduce Water.org’s proven WaterCredit solution to Brazil to accelerate impact in this new, top-priority geography.
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