Solvatten (Solar Water)
The solar water project aims to improve the living conditions of families with malnourished children between the ages of 0 and 5 in Kakuma, Kenya in a concrete and measurable way. The project in Kakuma will deepen the understanding of the positive health effects that Solvatten brings and make visible the connection between water, energy, hygiene and health.
Every yar 3.4 million people die due to diseases caused by polluted water, poor hygiene and sanitation. The majority of these are children under 5 years of age. And many who suffer from these poverty-related diseases during their childhood then suffer from its effects throughout their lives. The lack of clean water and energy is a joint problem for many poor families in Sub Sahara. Today, only 8.5% of Kenya’s population has access to the electricity grid. Because the energy sector is undeveloped, people instead use natural resources such as trees and coal. This leads to serious health problems such as smoke and burns, but it also has a very negative environmental impact and contributes to deforestation, soot and carbon dioxide emissions. For many families a house with clean, hot water and electricity is just a distant dream. Poverty is a multidimensional problem, and its expression varies in different parts of the world, but one thing is coherent among all poverty inflicted communities; that access to clean and warm water is the key to better hygiene, health and well-being.
Kakuma is a place where chronic malnutrition and poverty-related diseases such as typhoid and cholera are very common. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) collaborates with local health authorities to distribute Solvatten to health clinics in the area. The project includes training in WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene), which is an important part that creates trust between donors and recipients. The solar water itself and this education are effective tools for families to live a healthy and dignified life.
The Solvatten Foundation was established in the autumn of 2013, to enable and highlight activities and solutions that can improve the living conditions of people, especially women and children, who live without access to clean water.
The foundation enables the general public, institutions and companies to contribute to Solvatten projects through fundraising.