Elizabeth is a young mother living in the west of Kenya. For many years, one of the most challenging tasks she faced each day was to fetch water – the long walk there and back meant she spent four hours every day collecting and carrying all the water needed by the family for drinking, cooking, washing and cleaning.
Thanks to Water.org, a non-profit organization co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, her community now has access to safe water. This gave Elizabeth her time back, allowing her to fulfil her dream of starting a small business as a seamstress.
Watch ‘Elizabeth’s Dream’ on stellaartois.com.
Today, 663 million people in the developing world lack access to safe water. This crisis disproportionately affects women and children, who spend 125 million hours collecting water for their families.
In 2015, Stella Artois and Water.org launched a campaign called Buy A Lady A Drink, to help raise awareness of the global water crisis. As part of the campaign we created limited-edition Stella Artois Chalices, designed by developing-world artists, to engage consumers to contribute to the cause. For each Chalice purchased, $6.25 goes to Water.org, which will help Water.org provide five years’ access to safe water for one person in the developing world. As of January 1, 2017 we had sold more than 225,000 chalices. Combined with a $3m direct donation by Stella Artois, our 2015-2016 campaign has helped Water.org provide access to safe water to more than 800,000 people – and we’re not done yet.
Early in 2017, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stella Artois and Water.org announced a new four year commitment, with a goal to help provide 3.5 million people with access to safe water by 2020 through their partnership.
And to celebrate World Water Day on 22 March, Stella Artois and Water.org unveiled a public art installation at The Oculus, in New York, that visualized the impact of the Buy A Lady A Drink campaign. Brought to life by internationally renowned art and architecture practice Snarkitecture, ‘The Water Clouds by Stella Artois’ was a representation of the number of people in the developing world to date who will gain access to safe water through the partnership.
The Buy A Lady A Drink campaign is now rolling out into other countries. For 2017, the campaign features three new limited-edition chalices, designed by local artists in Cambodia, Uganda and Brazil.
“I have four daughters, and it’s tough to imagine them having to walk for hours every day to get clean water, as so many women around the world do,” said Water.org co-founder Matt Damon. “We want to put an end to these journeys. Through our partnership with Stella Artois we’re inviting consumers around the world to help us do this.”
To find out more – or to buy a chalice – go to the ‘Buy The Lady A Drink’ website or visit Water.org.
