Brandix initiative helps 2000 families receive potable water
08 Dec '08
3 min read
More than 2000 families living in the Anuradhapura and Kurunegala districts now have access to safer drinking water, with the completion of a collaborative community outreach project by the Brandix Group and Deutsche Bank Sri Lanka.
At high risk of contracting chronic renal and other water-borne diseases, these families have received special water filters designed to remove pathogens and harmful minerals such as fluoride from their drinking water, under a Rs 4 million project funded by these corporate entities.
“We are glad to have partnered Brandix in support of this worthy cause of providing the villages in our country with safe drinking water. The donation and our pledge to the sustainable development of communities in which we conduct business continue Deutsche Bank's strong and resolute commitment to Sri Lanka,” said Rohan Rodrigo, Deutsche Bank's Chief Country Officer in Sri Lanka.
Implemented under the Community Water Supply & Sanitation Project (CWSSP) of the Ministry of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development, the project involved the distribution of 2,000 filters in selected areas vulnerable to water-borne diseases and training recipients on the correct usage and maintenance procedures of the filters.
Anusha Alles, Head of CSR at Brandix said the concept for the community project was inspired by the Brandix Group's focus on CSR initiatives conducted under the theme 'Water is Life'. “The Brandix-Deutsche Bank Water Purification Project directly benefitted families carefully chosen on the basis of their exposure to water-borne diseases,” she said.
“Priority was given to families where at least one member had already developed renal problems due to bad drinking water.” Contaminated drinking water has been scientifically linked to the high incidence in Sri Lanka's North Central Province of Dental Fluorosis, Chronic Renal Failure and other health hazards.
Research carried out by several agencies including the Water Resources Board, has revealed that one in every 10 people living in the NCP suffers from a kidney disease as a result of drinking water contaminated with heavy metals and agro-chemicals and the use of low quality aluminum containers to store water.
As part of its commitment to help combat this problem, Brandix has donated to the government of Sri Lanka, a Water Research and Training Centre, purpose-built and equipped at a cost of Rs 25 million.
The 7,000 square-foot Laboratory and Training Centre at Anuradhapura is dedicated to reducing the occurrence of such health problems through a combination of awareness and training programmes on water purification, conservation and management and the manufacture and distribution of low cost household water filters in needy areas.
The Brandix Group's community outreach initiatives also include providing water through desalination plants, wells and pipe-borne water to communities in and around its manufacturing plants and the improvement of sanitation facilities in needy areas.
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