NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., June 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Grundfos Foundation has provided a DKK 5 million ($725,000 USD) grant to Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit, to support the continued expansion of Water Mission’s disaster response program. The grant will improve Water Mission’s readiness and capacity to quickly and efficiently respond to multiple disasters simultaneously.
Water Mission has more than 20 years of experience responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises in over 50 countries with both immediate and long-term safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions. In the last year, Water Mission responded to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, and most recently the flooding in East Africa, serving over 280,000 people affected by disasters, often collaborating with organizations such as UNICEF, Oxfam, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, World Central Kitchen, UN Migration (IOM), and others.
“In the wake of a disaster, it is a matter of life and death to have access to safe drinking water, and every second counts. We have seen how Water Mission can respond quickly and efficiently with emergency safe water supplies,” said Grundfos Foundation Executive Director Kim Nohr Skibsted. “We are making emergency funding available to our trusted partner at short notice to avoid unnecessary red tape and delays in getting help to those who need it.”
Emergency safe water access is critical for survival and recovery in every disaster. The internationally accepted Sphere Standards established for disasters stipulate the minimum volume of water required for drinking and domestic hygiene per household in a disaster context is two gallons (7.5 liters) per person per day. Water Mission actively works to coordinate efforts with local government authorities and other responding organizations to exceed these disaster relief standards.
“The Grundfos Foundation’s grant allows us to accelerate and expand our ability to respond to multiple disasters around the globe,” said Water Mission CEO and President George Greene IV, PE. “This provides us with the flexibility to have pre-positioned equipment ready to go in our warehouses and dedicated people set to deploy to future disasters. We are thankful for the Grundfos Foundation’s generosity and trust.”
In addition to its disaster response capabilities, Water Mission focuses on increasing sustainable safe water access in remote communities in eight countries around the world. This community development work is in response to the global water crisis, where according to the World Health Organization, more than two billion people around the world lack access to clean, safe water. Water Mission believes that, together, we can end the global water crisis. In the last year, Water Mission has served more than 1.9 million people with WASH solutions and more than 8 million people since its founding.
Watch this short video to learn more about Water Mission’s disaster response capabilities.
About Water Mission
Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds sustainable safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in more than 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Water Mission’s global headquarters is in North Charleston, SC, and the organization serves people in Africa; Asia; and North, South, and Central America. Charity Navigator has awarded Water Mission its top four-star rating 17 years in a row, a distinction shared by less than 1% of the charities rated by the organization. To learn more, visit watermission.org, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.
About The Grundfos Foundation
The Grundfos Foundation (Poul Due Jensen Foundation) is a Danish commercial foundation. Grundfos’ founder, Poul Due Jensen, created the Foundation on 19 May 1975. With 88 % of the shares, the Foundation is the majority shareholder in Grundfos, a world leader in pumps, water solutions and services.
This year, the Grundfos Foundation has pledged DKK 250m to philanthropic purposes within three strategic areas: Water, Research and Inclusion. Find out more about the Grundfos Foundation.
A video accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26772902-1cfe-4bda-8921-1c3fa886b720
