The late actor and philanthropist Paul Newman had a dream of providing safe water for all, and his dream is becoming a reality.
Paul co-founded the Safe Water Network in 2006, and in 2008 the Network established field offices in New Delhi, Ghana and Accra. The aim of this team of local water experts is to make it possible for communities to own and manage Safe Water Stations, and to date in excess of a quarter of a million people have been provided with daily access to safe water.
CEO Kurt Soderlund, together with his team, hosts forums and workshops, oversees field initiatives, and produces research and publications about the work they do. The teams, which are made up of some of the world’s most educated and esteemed water experts, empowers global communities to overcome their challenges to local sustainability.
Paul Newman’s Safe Water Network is determined to supply the around 25% of the global population with potable water, and do this by utilising new and different approaches to the problem, going out into the field to demonstrate these approaches to the communities, and working hand-in-glove with the water sector to overcome challenges and keep safe water flowing long-term.
The Network is focused on:
- Operational Skills: Many individuals living in the water-scarce regions do not have the operational or technical skills to operate and manage a Safe Water Station, so the team capacitates communities via comprehensive training, manuals and toolkits.
- Financial Capacity: Even when there are working systems, there is no funding to fix them when they break down, so the stations sell water at affordable prices and use the income to cover operating and maintenance costs.
- Consumers: The Network views individuals as consumers instead of beneficiaries, and educates them about the benefits of safe water usage and charges them a nominal fee to keep the safe water flowing.
- Environment: The Network’s approach to water resource management is geared to ensure that precious rural water sources are not overused, ensuring that there will be safe water available for future generations.
Paul Newman’s dream is alive and helping hundreds of thousands of individuals who would otherwise either die of thirst or resort to drinking unsafe water.
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