In 2015, Grand Circle Foundation launched the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Initiative, to ensure all schools and villages that are supported by GCF have an adequate supply of clean water and toilets that meet or exceed the local standards. Clean water improves health, education, agriculture, economic development and women’s empowerment. Currently, 86% of all schools, and 73% of all villages meet this criteria. We realized that to meet our goal of 100%, we needed a strong partner and in 2018 began our partnership with Wine to Water.

Travelers on the Overseas Adventure tour, Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge and Tented Safari, visit the Safe Water Ceramic Filter factory in Tanzania and learn of the difficulties in providing clean water to families, schools and communities. The technology for building the filters, which remove 99.99% of contaminants and bacteria from the water and last up to 10 years,  was learned from the Wine to Water factory in the Dominican Republic.  Wine to Water is now managing the Tanzania factory, with a goal to expand and bring clean water to more communities and enable the factory to be self sufficient in the next 2-3 years.

With support from our generous travelers, we are proud to fund $50,000 for the purchase of a truck to be used to transport raw materials to the factory, and deliver completed filters to schools and villages. The goal for the purchase of the vehicle is to decrease the operating expenses for the factory, and the vehicle will be leased to others when not in use to generate income for maintenance and fuel.

Our initial grant of $50,000 in April, 2018 was to support the renovation of wells and provide water filters and WASH training in the Amazon. Grand Circle Foundation partners with organizations with strong leaders that provide measurable results, and Wine to Water delivers strong results and ensures there is follow up with each community to measure the long term impact of the investment. Below are the results of the initial $50,000 grant:

  • Supported 77 projects in 37 communities, impacting 27,120 people
  • Completed 8 well rehabilitations ​​along the river basin
  • 200 filters delivered to the Guajira region
  • ​Phase II Filtration, Follow-up & WaSH Education​​ (filtration and WaSH  education expenses included: field coordinator salary + laptop/tablet for collecting  data + fuel/river transportation + training materials)
  • Hired full time project manager, Jhonny, in Colombia

In June of 2018,  we funded an additional $50,000 to support a 1000 Sawyer Water Filter Build at an annual company event, Business Works. Sawyer water filters are used to provide clean water to families  in hard to reach areas, in refugee camps and following natural disasters. A portion of the 1000 filters were distributed to Colombia, Cambodia, Laos and Mozambique.

    • December 2018: Colombia OAT team delivered 60 filters
    • April 2019: 200 filters delivered to Mozambique as part of disaster response after cyclones devastated the region – part of a shipment of 1500
    • August 2019: Cambodia OAT team delivered 200 filters
    • August 2019: Laos OAT team delivered 200 filters
    • Total filters distributed YTD: 660. Balance of filters to be distributed during off season by regional OAT teams

Your support is needed and appreciated, as we continue to grow our partnership with Wine to Water to help bring clean water to people around the world. Please donate here.