Tackling water woes through strategic partnership

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In collaboration with our strategic partner China Association for Poverty Alleviation and Development (CAPAD), we organised our first Village Water Management (VWM) programme commendation event in Beijing on 22 May where we took the opportunity to share the clean water project outcomes from our partnership in the last five years.

VWM programme commendation event organised in collaboration with CAPAD

VWM programme commendation event organised in collaboration with CAPAD

The event saw the participation of 58 attendees, including key leaders from Lien AID and CAPAD, various government authorities, Student Village Officers (SVOS), corporate partner and the local media. CAPAD’s Vice Chairman Mr. Wen Kegang shared the collaboration programme with Lien AID has benefitted more than 100,000 rural villagers across 73 poverty stricken villages in nine provinces in the past five years. He expressed the importance of continuous close collaboration between Lien AID and CAPAD as well as the support from various local government authorities. SVOs were called upon to continue to advance their efforts in project implementation for the villagers and for their personal growth.

Vice Minister of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development of China Mr. Ou Qingping also attended the event. In his keynote speech, he spoke highly of the VWM programme. Commendation awards were presented to outstanding SVOs, local partners, individual and corporate donors at the event.

Commendation awards presented to outstanding SVOs

Commendation awards presented to outstanding SVOs

Closing the session, our CEO Mr. Koh Lian Hock called for foundations, corporates and individuals to participate in the programme to improve clean water access and living conditions of rural communities in China.

Updates on ongoing Village Water Management (VWM) projects in China

Back in January, we shared the progress of our ongoing VWM projects in China. With most of the projects under the 7th batch of the VWM programme completed and pending inspection, we are picking up on the progress of the 8th batch of VWM projects spread across Hunan, Shandong and Guizhou provinces.

Construction of piped water system in Jinlan village, Guizhou

Construction of piped water system in Jinlan village, Guizhou province

Under the 8th batch of the VWM programme, the construction of water distribution and storage infrastructure has kicked off at some project sites, with some households in Huangshanzi and Zhujiazhuang villages in Shandong province and Qishu village in Guizhou province gaining access to clean piped water.

In addition to the construction of infrastructure, we also conducted a series of Health and Hygiene (H&H) training sessions for villagers in April and May. These sessions aim to increase the knowledge capacity of local communities, as well as raise awareness on best practices in health and hygiene. As we move towards the conclusion of the 8th batch of VWM projects later this year, stay tuned to learn more about our takeaways and milestones accomplished!

Villagers attend training on best practices in health & hygiene in Longshan village, Guizhou province

Villagers attend training on best practices in health & hygiene in Longshan village, Guizhou province

Learn more about the VWM programme in China here. To stay in touch with our latest updates, join our mailing list:

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Better access to affordable clean water no longer a pipe dream for 1,800 villagers in Myanmar

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Earlier this year, we shared the progress of our pilot clean water project in Tetma village, Mandalay region, Myanmar. In partnership with Myanmar Engineering Society (MES), this project aims to create better access to affordable clean water for more than 1,800 villagers.

Tetma village is located in the dry zone in Myanmar and experiences low annual rainfall. When we first visited this area in 2014, we saw the importance of clean water to the villagers – especially in terms of livelihood, and their daily challenges to get access to clean water. Families typically start their day with a walk of up to an hour to fetch eight to 10 gallons of clean water from a well for personal use and their production of jaggery (honey and candy) for trade. The amount of jaggery produced is dependent on the amount of clean water that families can collect in time, before the local tradesman collect their products daily.

Women in Tetma village making jaggery (honey and candy) for trade

Women in Tetma village making jaggery (honey and candy) for trade

Handover of completed pilot clean water project to Tetma village on 12 June 2016

Under the pilot clean water project, a solar-powered and gravity-fed piped water distribution system was extended from an existing tube well to eight water points at six surrounding hamlets (small rural settlements with a small population), bringing access to clean water closer to the homes.

New water tower and storage tank

New water tower and storage tank

The local Water Management Committee (WMC) was trained to manage and monitor the new water distribution system, while workshops were conducted for both the WMC and local villagers to increase awareness on best practices in health and hygiene.

Since the completion of the system in April 2016, villagers shared that it has reduced walking distances and saved time on water collection. Some of them have been able to collect more water for their personal use and jaggery production with the reduced walking distance and lower cost.

Villagers collecting water at one of the water points

Villagers collecting water at one of the water points

We handed over the project to the village authorities at an official ceremony graced by Ministers and General Attorney from the Mandalay Regional Government, district administrators and villagers on 12 June 2016.

Lien AID Chairman Mr Michael Sim with local authorities at the official handover ceremony

Lien AID Chairman Mr Michael Sim with local authorities at the official handover ceremony

The completion of this pilot project in the Mandalay region marks Lien AID’s first step in enabling clean water access for Myanmar’s rural communities. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of this project for the next two years. Moving forward, we are also studying the feasibility of piloting clean water projects in the Ayeyarwady region, bringing the gift of clean water to more rural communities in Myanmar.

Learn more about Myanmar’s water woes and our focus areas here.

Ending Poverty by 2030

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On 25th September 2015, more than 150 world leaders gathered at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit to celebrate the accomplishments and review the shortfalls over the past 15 years, and to renew their commitment to end poverty. This renewed commitment was translated into seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 169 targets set to address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, over the next 15 years.

The SDGs build on the progress that has been made in the past 15 years with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); which has guided governments, institutions, and organisations in the largest anti-poverty movement in history. They are designed to get us to the finish line; learning from the past shortfalls and with the bold aim of reducing poverty to a statistical zero on most targets.

 

Infographic SDGs

In the area of water and sanitation, targets were set that covered the entire water cycle – improving water quality (e.g. halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, eliminating dumping), increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors (e.g. substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity), expanding cooperation to developing countries and strengthening the participation of local communities in improving their water and sanitation management.

 

Translating Commitment to Action 

Achieving these necessary targets requires that governments, organisations, companies and individuals act together to align their guiding strategies with these global priorities.

There are several platforms that aim to facilitate the development of such partnerships between governments, organisations, companies and individuals. This includes the Water Action Hub, which is a platform that connects potential collaborators working on water management projects globally. For companies, joining the CEO Water Mandate is an excellent opportunity to be part of an international movement of committed companies and actively contribute to the dialogue on water stewardship and benefit from the collective experience of the other participating organisations.

 

Corporate Action

On an organisational level, the SDG Compass is a useful tool that comprehensively outlines ways companies can align their strategies and actions to contribute to the achievement of these SDGs.

Developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), United Nations Global Compact, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the SDG Compass provides a good framework for any company seeking to ensure that sustainability is part of their core business strategy.

It includes solid advice on how to map out the impact (positive or negative) of a company’s competencies, technologies, products, and products with respect to the SDGs – an important first step. Water risk mapping tools such as WBCSD’s Global Water Tool, and Water Resource Institute (WRI)’s Aqueduct are useful in this respect. It also provides key indicators in the form of global guidelines and industry-set benchmark necessary in giving companies an overall perspective on their impact.

 

The next steps

It’s up to governments, institutions and organisations now to set into motion the next steps and while it remains to be seen how these renewed targets will be translated into actionable local targets for individual countries, it is clear that the benefits to addressing water and sanitation continues to exceed the investment needed to achieve it.

 

Sharing Knowledge: Speaking at the United Nations about “A River’s Tail”

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People fly kites in a neighborhood of Can Tho, Vietnam. One of the first images from A River’s Tail in Vietnam.

For the past six months Lien AID and a team based in Cambodia have partnered to create A River’s Tail, a visual documentary of human life along the Mekong river. The story will be told at ariverstail.com by photographers Luc Forsyth and Gareth Bright as they travel from the mouth of the Mekong River in Vietnam to its source in China.

I have spent the last six months working with Lien AID and the photographers on A River’s Tail to come up with marketing and social media plans. As the project nears publication the United Nations in Bangkok invited me to give a lunchtime presentation on what we have learned so far.

With A River’s Tail we are aiming to tell a story which will help people care about water issues without making them feel guilty. It’s a complicated story both visually and in text, but we decided not to sacrifice that complexity to make the story more palatable. Our initial indications are that the audience appreciates detailed stories and that the audience responds as strongly to black and white images as to color. A River’s Tail is more visually complicated than what’s customary for NGO journalism, but we have not seen any negative reaction when comparing audience responses between our more conventional images and grittier black and white photos.

A full set of notes about the presentation and lessons from A River’s Tail are available on Medium.

“We teach them how to fish instead of just giving,” says Lien AID CEO

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While he is the head of the non-profit organisation, Lien AID CEO Mr Koh Lian Hock maintains, ” I don’t believe in charity.” Rather, he believes in empowering benefactors with skills to continue whatever work the agency has started.

“We teach them how to fish, instead of just giving,” he says. “I believe (our partners) like our approach of helping to set up social enterprises… and the fact that we focus a lot on sustainability and capacity building.”

With a team of just 17 full-time staff, Mr Koh says it is even more important to run the organisation like a corporate firm, adding that “95 per cent of the way we work must be the same – efficient and effective.”

“The only difference is the bottom line. In commercial firms, it’s about making money but in our case, it’s about servicing the beneficiaries. That’s where you get satisfaction, and that’s something you cannot measure.”

Read how Lien AID’s CEO leads drive to make clean water accessible in rural Asia.

Opinion : Good Corporate Citizenship

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How can enterprises better match their corporate giving to social needs? Why is doing good ultimately good for business, and what CSR challenges do you face? 

Published in the Business Times on March 24th, Lien AID CEO Koh Lian Hock shared his opinion on good corporate citizenship.

“From an NGO perspective, there are tangible and intangible benefits for enterprises to practise corporate social responsibility (CSR) both financially and in terms of skilled volunteerism, to help the needy in Singapore and in the region.” 

To find out more about how you can partner with us, take a look at our Get Involved page, or drop us a note.

Let’s talk about clean water : Lien AID features on Singapore Radio Station 938Live

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In January this year, Lien AID was invited as a guest on Singapore Radio Station 938Live’s daily morning programme. Staff, Aisha Abdul Rahman animatedly shares with listeners on the water and sanitation crisis in Asia, how the organisation continues to work on improving access to clean water for poor rural communities in Asia using unique and sustainable solutions, and how you can get involved this year.
To find out more, please take a look at What We Do.

A new year filled with hope

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12 months. 365 days. 58 villages. 45 schools. More than 113,000 beneficiaries. Thanks to the generous support and commitment of our partners, stakeholders and staff, this new year will be the first flush with an improved access to a sustainable source of clean water for many rural communities across Cambodia, China and Vietnam.

However, our work is far from finished. 466 million people in Asia still lack access to safe water but together with you, we can make the gift of water a reality for many more rural communities. To find out more, please take a look at What We Do.

Water supply contaminated with saltwater intrusion made safe for drinking for communities across two Vietnamese provinces on the Mekong Delta

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During the dry season from January to June every year, contaminating saltwater seeps into the communities’ drinking water supply in the coastal provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh in Vietnam. With municipal water treatment systems unable to remove this high saline content effectively, rural communities are forced to buy water from other sources. Villagers wait in long queues and pay exorbitant prices to purchase drinking water from these alternative sources, some with no guarantee of the water’s quality.

Earlier this year, a pilot initiative by Lien AID in partnership with the National Centre for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (NCERWASS) of Vietnam equipped three municipal water treatment plants with additional desalination systems, successfully removing the high saline content in the drinking water supply, effectively making it safe for consumption.  This continues to be sold at an affordable price, ensuring that these communities are able to carry out their lives with guaranteed access to clean and affordable water.

An estimated 7, 475 beneficiaries have benefitted from this pilot initiative. However many communities living in the coastal provinces on the Mekong Delta continue to live with this challenge, and a lack of access to clean drinking water.