MANILA, Philippines - SM Supermalls and UNICEF have joined hands to raise awareness on the need for clean water, sanitation and hygiene. The pilot project for this campaign is Masbate where the key program activities are envisioned to benefit a community and six elementary schools with 1,500 schoolchildren. The project was conceived when Year 2000 was declared as the “International Year of Sanitation” with the aim to help increase access of Filipinos to safe drinking water, and practice good sanitation and hygiene.
Major projects to be undertaken in Masbate are the construction of community water supply facilities to provide safe drinking water, construction of school toilets, and lavatory for handwashing and de-worming and Vitamin A supplementation of schoolchildren.
SM’s commitment to the project is to donate P.25 to UNICEF for every bottle of SM bottled water is contributing to the UNICEF Fund for the Masbate project. In effect it is not only SM that is helping out in the project but SM customers who buy bottled water also participate in this social cause.
Every P.25 contributed to UNICEF provides access to safe drinking water for two children in Masbate for one day.