Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

This project will improvequality of life & health for over 13,000 people, reduce serious childhood waterborne diseases in the villages by up to 80%, increase family incomes, & improve student academic performance.

Project Message

Our family was sick constantly, especially the children. The new EMW water system changed our lives; we're healthy now and can go to work and school. We can finally give our children a better future!
- Mr. Doan Quoc Thanh, Hamlet 3, Benificiary of the Water Program

Who is Running This Project

Organization

East Meets West Foundation 1611 Telegraph Avenue Suite 1420 Oakland, California 94612 United States +15107637045 http://www.eastmeetswest.org

Learn more about East Meets West Foundation and the project team.

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in Vietnam and can also be found under Health.

For more information about Vietnam, read the Human Development Report on Vietnam or the Wikipedia entry for Vietnam.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on August 08, 2008.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on October 26, 2007.

Latest Update from the Field

EMW Clean Water & Sanitation Program Update

By Mimi Vu - Development & Information Officer, August 08, 2008 06:55 PM

The East Meets West Foundation has been providing people in rural Vietnam with access to safe, clean water for the past ten years. EMW recently added a new sanitation component to the program that will provide training on improved hygiene and sanitation habits as well as the construction of hygienic latrines. This dual approach aims to greatly reduce water-borne diseases and improve overall community health in rural areas of Vietnam.

Water-related illnesses are the leading cause of human sickness and death in the world, taking the lives of about 6,000 people a day. Clean water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene lead to better health and improved economic and education opportunities. Women, children, and those living in rural areas bear a disproportionate burden of the global water crisis in developing nations, often spending hours every day collecting water--time that could be better spent pursuing work or education.

To help strengthen the capacity of local partners, EMW held a water management workshop on privatizing management of rural water systems in October 2007. The workshop was attended by members of local and national goverments, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, NGOs, and local community members. Participants learned about the latest strategies in privatizing water management so that the local communities could be responsible for running their water system.

With sustainability at the forefront of each water project, in 2008 EMW's water team is working on over 20 different water systems. Two of those systems have been completed, and will benefit an additional 3,394 people living in 754 rural households.
Attachments:

• Participants at EMW's water management workshop
• Ribbon-cutting ceremony of a newly-completed water system
• A little boy enjoying clean running water for the first time fro

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