Cambodia Beverage Company (Coca-Cola) and Planet Water Foundation Expand Partnership With Seven New Clean Water Filtration Systems in 2017
World Water Day Event Leads to More Assistance in Rural Cambodia
Scottsdale, AZ USA, April 18, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Planet Water Foundation, one of the leading non-profit organizations focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most disadvantaged communities, and Cambodia Beverage Company (Coca-Cola) have strengthened their joint commitment to bringing clean, safe water access and hygiene education programs to communities across Cambodia by adding seven additional rural Cambodia villages in 2017.
World Water Day 2017 served as a purposeful day to deploy the first project of the expanded partnership in Srah Srang, Cambodia where six Cambodia Beverage Company volunteers and two local partners joined together to construct a water filtration system (AquaTower). Srah Srang residents previously drank untreated water from contaminated wells and nearby ponds, resulting in waterborne illness. The AquaTower project makes clean, safe water a daily modern convenience and improves living conditions for approximately 3,000 village residents. The untreated water conditions in Srah Srang are typical of other remote Siem Reap villages, and the six other communities that will benefit from the expanded commitment to clean water programs later this year.
"We are pleased to be a trustful partner with Planet Water Foundation in this meaningful project to extend our commitment. By providing local people with fundamental benefits of clean water and personal hygiene knowledge, we expect to see the positive changes in terms of living quality of local communities."
Mr. David Wigglesworth, General Manager, Coca-Cola Cambodia
Planet Water projects are deployed in high school environments to the benefit of students who can become sick from waterborne illnesses and miss school days. “We have a water source at the school, but no treatment facility. We are so worried about our students’ health and it is sad to think about what will happen for them in the future if they still drink this water without treatment” explains Mr. Lay Many, Headmaster of Srah Srang Junior High School. With the AquaTower installation, children will have an increase in school attendance and an opportunity for a healthy future.
Each Planet Water AquaTower project costs $15,000 to deploy, which includes five years of post-project sustainability support, water quality monitoring, and the implementation of Planet Water’s hygiene education program. AquaTower projects are typically sponsored by companies that are committed to corporate and social responsibility around water and hygiene education initiatives such as Cambodia Beverage Company (Coca-Cola).
“We are very pleased to expand our community water filtration and hygiene education programs as a result from the broader sponsorship directed by Cambodia Beverage Company (Coca-Cola),” said Mark Steele, Founder and CEO of Planet Water Foundation. “Like Srah Srang, each of the remaining six communities are going to receive clean water this year, and that means immediate change and long-term benefits from this substantial commitment.”
“Being a part of Cambodia society for more than 20 years, Coca-Cola Cambodia is committed to building sustainable communities. Water stewardship initiatives play an important part in that sustainability strategy,” shared Mr. David Wigglesworth, General Manager of Coca-Cola Cambodia. “We are pleased to be a trustful partner with Planet Water Foundation in this meaningful project to extend our commitment. By providing local people with fundamental benefits of clean water and personal hygiene knowledge, we expect to see the positive changes in terms of living quality of local communities.”
The organizations will deploy one additional project in Siem Reap Province as well as projects in Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Speu, and Battambang Provinces for a total of seven projects under the expanded program during 2017 and a grand total of eight total projects since 2016.
For more information, please contact:
Mark Cain
Planet Water Foundation
mark.cain@planet-water.org or (480) 319-4630.
About Planet Water Foundation
Planet Water Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most disadvantaged communities through the installation of community-based water filtration systems (AquaTowers) and the deployment of hygiene education programs. Planet Water Foundation projects are focused on children, schools, and rural/peri-urban communities across Asia and Latin America.
About Cambodia Beverage Company & Bottling Investments Group
The Cambodia Beverage Company Ltd (CBC), a member of Bottling Investments Group (BIG), a bottling unit of The Coca-Cola Company. Cambodia Beverage Company is proud to be the exclusive authorized manufacturer and distributor The Coca-Cola Company in Cambodia. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, Cambodia Beverage Company also markets eight of the most favorite sparkling beverage including Coca-Cola Light, Fanta, Sprite Schweppes, Samurai, Minute Maid Pulpy, Dasani purified drinking water and Aquarius. Cambodia Beverage Company directly employed more than 800 people in Cambodia and through our extensive business network our business generates an additional 4,800 jobs for Cambodia in related industries. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company or Coca-Cola in Cambodia, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com
Source: Planet Water Foundation | Coca-Cola Cambodia
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