MANILA, Philippines - Two barangays in the Visayas – one in Bohol and the other in Cebu – which were among those hardest hit by the dry spell caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, were the beneficiaries of 76 trucks of water donated by Procter and Gamble last weekend.
In partnership with World Vision Philippines, Procter and Gamble donated 38 trucks of water for the use of nearly 2,000 families in Barangay Oy in Loboc, Bohol, and the rest for households in a village in Compostela, Cebu.
Jun Godornes, World Vision marketing manager, said majority of the beneficiaries are their scholars and their respective families.
“Apart from going to school, we also recognize their basic needs, including access to a healthy environment and clean water. Procter and Gamble, through this endeavor, is responding to that call,” Godornes said.
Boris Joaquin, World Vision’s public ministry director, said, “Since these communities are among the poorest in the country, they often have no or lack water systems that would efficiently and effectively provide each household with the most basic of all human necessities.”
In coastal communities and far-flung areas, World Vision said villagers often have difficulty locating a water source that is within a reasonable distance from their households, forcing adults and children alike to walk far distances to fetch water.
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by addressing the causes of poverty and injustice.
Loboc, Bohol Mayor Leon Calipusan was thankful for Procter and Gamble’s donation.
“El Niño causes water levels in even small water sources like springs and wells to go down, making the donation a very welcome help to us,” he said.
“Before the Procter and Gamble group came in, we had water delivered to the different houses but the source is still far,” he added.
Aside from giving these communities fresh supply of water, the “Kabisig sa Tubig” program of Procter and Gamble also provided the beneficiary households with 75,000 sachets of Downy Isang Banlaw, which will help them save water by reducing multiple rinses in washing clothes to just one rinse.
Water saved by rinsing only once is equivalent to a family’s drinking needs for a week. By using the Downy product, households can save some 240 liters of water a month. This translates to 240,000 liters for an entire barangay.
Downy country marketing manager Mai Mai Madrid-Punzalan said the Kabisig sa Tubig program is part of their long-running campaign to promote water conservation.
The program also involved the distribution of 200,000 sachets of PUR, Procter and Gamble’s low-cost water purification technology, and 150,000 Safeguard bars to the communities to promote hygiene and sanitation.