News

Foundation Pledges To Help Children Access Clean Water

Wed 20th November 2019

Families caught up in emergency situations and vulnerable children will have access to clean water thanks to the Foundation’s new project with Unicef, the world’s leading children’s charity.

The Foundation is funding water and sanitation facilities which will help hundreds of children to stay safe and healthy, as well as continuing to support Unicef’s Children’s Emergency Fund, which exists to allow the charity to respond immediately when children are in danger.

The Foundation will donate £25,000 this season, allowing Unicef to provide:

  • Water and hygiene kits for 64 families affected by war and disaster.
  • 67,000 water purification tablets, which will produce over 200,000 litres of clean water.
  • Water pumps for 10 villages and 10 toilets for schools, providing thousands of families with access to clean water and sanitation.

The remaining funds will be used to help Unicef respond to humanitarian emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunami, floods and conflicts.

For children to grow up healthy and happy, they need access to clean water, proper sanitation and good hygiene. Water, sanitation and hygiene are basic human rights, which Unicef is working to uphold for every child – a lack of these can kill over 800 children every day around the world.

The Foundation’s Unicef Partnership Champion, Rangers legend Michael Mols, commented: 

“So many children across the globe lack access to clean water – a basic human right for everyone that so many of us take for granted and is vital to health. Children are the future so I am sure Rangers fans will back the Foundation’s pledge to support Unicef’s work in water and sanitation this season, helping to keep children everywhere safe.”

Foundation Director, Connal Cochrane, commented: “We are proud to support Unicef’s work in ensuring children have access to clean water and sanitation, building upon our legacy over the last 11 years.

“Last season we celebrated a decade of partnership with UNICEF and have donated over £685,000 to support a variety of causes including education, health and emergency relief since the partnership began in 2008. In that time we have supported over 1.5 million children world-wide.

“We look forward to building upon that legacy with this new project targeting water and sanitation, which are crucial for good health.  Of course, we will also be continuing to support the Children’s Emergency Fund, which allows Unicef to react immediately when children find themselves in a dangerous situation, such as being caught up in a conflict or natural disaster.”

Sue Adams, Director of Partnerships for UNICEF UK, added: “I can’t express how grateful we are for the support and commitment the Rangers Charity Foundation has shown to UNICEF in this season, and for the last ten years. Their support for children and families caught up in emergencies, and those in need of water and sanitation facilities will help us to provide a safer future for every child.”

Thanks to the generosity of our fans, the Foundation will be able to support interventions such as those made by Unicef in Indonesia in September 2019, when an earthquake damaged school buildings in Sindue. Unicef helped provide toilets, emergency handwashing facilities and water purification tablets to keep children such as Biyan Saputra and Sisil Agustin (both 12) safe and healthy.

The village of Dafo in Djibouti is another great example of the difference Unicef can make to vulnerable children. Djibouti is one of the smallest and most arid countries on the planet where temperatures can reach up to 47°c. Water is as precious as it is scarce. Many water wells are drying up and in rural areas people — especially women and children — have to walk a minimum of half an hour to reach the closest water source.

The village of Dafo, home to hundreds of families, has very few natural resources. Unicef has helped provide the village with its own water point, and the school has been equipped with proper water and sanitation services using the technology of solar pumping mechanisms, keeping the children healthy despite the extreme conditions.

To find out more about our long term work with Unicef, visit our partnership page here.

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