Safe Drinking Water for 80,000 Children in Bolivia

Dear friends and supporters,

As a previous donor to projects of the SODIS Foundation, you may be interested in an exciting initiative we are involved: The Rockefeller Foundation, GlobalGiving and InnoCentive are continuing their Global Giveback Challenge to find solutions to water-related problems in developing countries. A project of the SODIS Foundation, related to the development of a low-cost radiation indicator ("SODIS indicator"), is one of only four projects which have been selected at global level, and we are truly excited about this opportunity.

Between now and February 29, all donations received through www.globalgiving.org/7089 to our project will be matched by 200%! That is, for each dollar donated, our sponsors will add two more, thus tripling the amount you donate. We think this is a great opportunity to achieve a great impact and support this important initiative further. Please be aware that matching funds are limited, so act quickly (availability of matching funds can be checked here).

Please share this information with friends and families who may be interested in making a donation or just in spreading the word.

Best regards,
Matthias Saladin

P.S: You can also support our projects by mobile phone (Only works for US mobile phones):

Text GIVE 7089 to 80088 to donate $10 to Develop an indicator for Solar Water Disinfection.

Text GIVE 1905 to 80088 to donate $10 to provide safe water for a child.

Message and data rates may apply. Full Terms: www.mGive.org/T

Links:

• InnoCentive press release
• Global Giveback Funding Challenge blog

Dear Supporters,

As we announced earlier, we are now in the third phase of our project for schools in Bolivia. During this phase, the project will be implemented in 40 schools in Tiquipaya, a municipality close to the city of Cochabamba. Training of teachers started in October and continued until the middle of December. Currently, the schools are closed (for summer vacation!) in Bolivia, and classes will start again in early February with the next phase of the project.

Today, we want to tell you the story of the school named “Floresta Collpapampa”. It’s the first school in Tiquipaya where not only the teachers have been trained in methods to obtain safe drinking water, but also these methods are practiced on a daily basis. Floresta Callpapampa is a school in the Eastern part of the municipality where 250 children go to class of the primary level. The teachers were enthusiastic about the novel methodology which is being implemented by the SODIS Foundation, and the director of the school proudly accepted the challenge to be the first school of the project which can offer SAFE DRINKING WATER to its pupils and teachers. Thus, Christmas was an ideal opportunity to celebrate and to finish the year with many smiling faces.

From the SODIS Foundation, we also would like to announce more GOOD NEWS: User’s of mobile phones in the US can now donate to our project with a text message:

Text GIVE 1905 to 80088 to donate 10$ to our project. Messege and data rates may apply. Read full terms: www.mGive.org/t.

Wishing you all a happy Holiday Season and all the best for 2012,

With best regards from the whole project team,

Matthias Saladin

Links:

• Website of the SODIS Foundation

Dear supporters,

We are excited to inform you that we entered the third phase of the initiative to bring safe water to schools in Bolivia. The long-time supporters among you may remember that during the first phase of the initiative (2008-2009) we implemented our previously tested methodology in more than 230 schools. During that phase, we reached more than 80,000 school kids in three Departments of Bolivia.

Throughout the second phase (2010) we worked together with UNICEF in schools in several communities in the Andean region of Bolivia in order to develop our methodology further. In the third phase (2011-2012), we include novel technologies (like on-site generation of chlorine solution for water disinfection) and test them for their acceptance and adequacy in rural and peri-urban schools.

Over the past few months, we have been setting up the institutional framework for this new project phase. On September 1st, the new phase was officially launched at a ceremony during which the District Director of the Ministry of Education, along with Representatives of the Municipality of Tiquipaya and of the SODIS Foundation signed the project agreement (see pictures). The project will be implemented in 40 rural and peri-urban schools of Tiquipaya, a municipality in the Department of Cochabamba. The initiative also received the formal support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the local water and sanitation service provider (SENASBA). Involving so many institutions slows the project down in the beginning. However, we consider that this is more than compensated for in later phases of the process when we want to disseminate the lessons learned and eventually integrate the successful elements of this project into other initiatives. We strongly believe that working in an isolated, project-based manner is a thing of the past - today’s complex challenges require mixed networks of organizations cooperating and complementing each other.

On a separate note, we would like to announce that Wednesday, October 19 is a Bonus Day on Global Giving. This means that all donations we receive that day through www.globalgiving.org/1905 (credit card donations of up to 1,000 dollars) will be complemented by another 30% by the Global Giving Foundation. This is a great opportunity (and the last one this calendar year) to make your donation go even further – we can reach 30% more children if you donate that specific day, with no extra cost for you.

For your continuing support and interest we want to thank you very much. We will keep you informed about the further development of this exciting initiative and look forward to receiving feedback from you.

Best regards from the whole project team,

Matthias Saladin

Project leader

Links:

• New research on the sustainability of SODIS