WASHINGTON, DC, Jan 14, 2013 – The Millennium Water Alliance (MWA), the consortium of US-based organizations that implement water, sanitation and hygiene education programs throughout the developing world, today welcomes the innovative Vermont-based charity Pure Water for World as an affiliate member of MWA.
“We are extremely pleased to have Pure Water for the World as part of MWA because of its demonstrated strength in hygiene education and local solutions,” said MWA Executive Director Rafael Callejas. “Pure Water is committed to high standards of transparency and sustainability, a core part of the MWA mission as well.”
Last month, MWA announced the addition of the IRC – International and Sanitation Centre, based in the Netherlands, as another affiliate member of MWA. The addition of Pure Water and IRC bring to 13 the number of organizations that are part of the Alliance today.
“I am thrilled that Pure Water for the World is able to contribute its experience and resources to the Millennium Water Alliance,” said Pure Water Executive Director Carolyn Meub. “We will all benefit in sharing best practices, and Pure Water will bring to the table its ‘boots on the ground’ experience in very rural and very underserved regions of the developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Pure Water was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, with a US staff of three and a field staff in Honduras and Haiti numbering more than 25. Many Pure Water employees were born and raised in the communities they now proudly serve.
Critical to program sustainability is an emphasis on hygiene and sanitation education, as well as ongoing program monitoring in an effort to continually improve program efficacy. Community programs frequently include treatment for parasites and follow-up monitoring.
MWA’s membership includes 13 major WASH implementers, mostly headquartered in the United States: CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Food for the Hungry, Global Water, IRC – International Water and Sanitation Centre, Lifewater International, Living Water International, Pure Water for the World, Water Aid in America, Water For People, Water Missions International, Water.org, and World Vision. MWA has a full-time professional staff headquartered in Washington, DC, and its Board of Directors is composed of its member NGOs.
The Alliance was founded in 2002 to create opportunities for consortium programming, to help members share best practices and technologies, and to advocate for greater US commitment to improving WASH access for the world’s poorest people.
MWA’s members now operate WASH programs in nearly 85 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, with diverse funding from governments, multilateral institutions, foundations, corporations, and individuals. At this time, MWA directly manages several major consortium programs for its members in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Central America.