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Village Volunteers Receives $15,000 
for Clean Water in Kenya

 

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Woodinville Rotary Club donates $15,000 to support Village Volunteers

 water purification project in Kiminini, Kenya

Seattle, WA. – March 18, 2009 – Village Volunteers recently received a $15,000 donation from Woodinville Rotary Club to complete the funding of a water purification factory to produce ceramic water filters using indigenous materials and local labor. Water purification is just one of a growing number of local, sustainable initiatives that Village Volunteers is sponsoring.  Based in Seattle, Washington, Village Volunteers supports a diverse number of village-run projects through matching volunteers around the world with projects that address rural community challenges. This donation from Woodinville Rotary Club makes it possible for the building of the factory storage building, and the training of production staff in Kenya

Currently 60% of the deaths that occur in rural Kenyan villages are caused by illnesses related to unsafe water and sanitation. Sadly, the vast majority of deaths occur in children under the age of five (Ministry of Health, Kenya). 

Shana Greene, Village Volunteer’s Executive Director, further stated “there are over 30 million people in Kenya and over 50 percent of the rural population has no access to clean water.  Due to water born illnesses, it is very difficult for the community to be productive in their daily lives.”

The water purification system used by Village Volunteers was developed in Nicaragua by Potters for Peace to provide a simple, sustainable system that can be supported by Third World economies and capability.  By leveraging this work, Village Volunteers is hoping to provide water filters to other villages in collaboration with their ten partner NGO’s throughout Kenya.

John Hughes, Woodinville Rotary Club’s Vice-President, spurred the club’s involvement with the project, after learning of the Kiminini project through student activists at the University of Washington Bothell, where Woodinville Rotary had been collaborating with the University in fund raising projects. 

John Hughes said “what made this program so compelling for us was the fact that Village Volunteers would oversee the project with their local support and ensure its success.  The direct impact this program will make to the lives of the villagers is also very compelling, particularly as they will be involved in the manufacture of water purifiers through a sustainable industry that they are actively engaged in.” 

Village Volunteers is now accepting applications to volunteer in Kenya to work on the project.  They are also fundraising to provide filters

Over the Top check presented
Village Volunteers executive director Shana Greene, board member and Rotarian Kaj Pedersen and our international chair Jorge Gonzalez. Club's $15,000 check was presented at our March 3 meeting.

for orphan-headed households, schools, clinics and orphan homes. Travel containers have been designed to transport water filters in order to broaden the range of recipients.

For only $20, including the price of transportation, you can sponsor a ceramic water filter that will provide clean water for 6-8 people for 3 years. To sponsor a filter, or to volunteer in Kenya visit www.villagevolunteers.org/donate.

 

About Village Volunteers

Village Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works in partnership with rural village and capacity-building programs to support the development of sustainable solutions for community survival, education, and growth.

Village Volunteers was founded in the belief that partnership is a key factor in the renewal and healing of areas plagued by poverty and disease. Committed to preserving autonomy and cultural heritage, Village Volunteers works in collaboration with village programs to support the achievement of their goals and objectives by integrating international volunteerism, sustainable community development projects, and program assistance.  For more information visit: www.villagevolunteers.org.

For more information, please contact:

 

Shana Greene,

Founder & Executive Director,

Village Volunteers

 

Email: shana@villagevolunteers.org

Phone: (206) 577-0515 

Return to the Home Page                     Return to Newsletter for March 24

More Programs supported by Greater Woodinville Rotary

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The Music Project

Twenty-One Acres

Village Volunteers