Ideas to Reality - Water Is Life Project

Accessibility and availability of water is essential towards the achievement of socio-economic mobility and integral in the quest to achieve sustainable development. It is a core resource that greatly enhances quality of life . Most importantly, the production of food and the maintenance of a balanced eco-system relies heavily on clean water sources. There is no gainsaying the fact that water is indeed life.

Stamicarbon as a company is a pioneer and leader in improving the quality of life through innovation whilst bringing reliable and sustainable technologies to the market , enabling the world to feed itself. Our corporate social responsibility agenda is anchored on this premise and we are leaving no stone unturned in delivering on our goals in this regard.

Uganda is experiencing steady growth and with this growth come a myriad of challenges. The availability and supply of clean water is one of many issues. Approximately 7 million Ugandans have no access to clean water. The average Ugandan uses 22 percent of generated income to buy water from vendors. This impacts on disposable income and pushes the per capita income further down. The Ideas to Reality campaign was conceived by Stamicarbon to help mitigate such trends by providing an intervention fund that help finance projects that promote sustainability and overall quality of life.

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Safe and clean water for the children - Source: https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/uganda/

The first sponsored project was the Water Is Life project which involved buying Kumi hospital and the surrounding agricultural lands a centrifugal water pump. The team that championed the project was made up of

  • Pauline Rietra,
  • Jan-Willem Goedmaker
  • Frederique Timmerman
  • Carla Wildeboer
  • Jos Hazebroek
  • Martijn Janssen
  • Martijn Corvers

The project has been a resounding success. The pump runs for 10 hours a day and pumps an average of 60m3 (6000 liters). The average fuel consumption per hour is 1 liter. It has been of immense benefit to the community as it has provided a source of clean and potable water. An average of 200 families benefit from this water source and this has led to a downturn in registered cases of water borne related ailments. The pump was commissioned in 2016 and has been active since then.

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The presentation of the cheque to the hospital staff
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Members of the community getting water from the taps.
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The water tank that stores pumped water
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The smiles on their faces say it all

The Farm Manager Óuke Dijstra has this to say ‘’ The pump is still in use and provides water to the hospital and the staff houses. Also, the farm gets water on a daily basis for a couple of hours to fill the drinking troughs of the cattle. It certainly has been of great value to this community’’.

The strength of man’s personality is encapsulated in his ability to impact upon his immediate society. Stamicarbon has proven to be a first amongst equals, that sets the pace in the discharge of its CSR goals, and that helps make the world we live better and more progressive. Truly, we are on a mission with a vision to creating a lasting impression.