Water-for-Life to build 20 Aqua Towers in Manila, Cebu

MANILA, Philippines - JPMorgan Chase Foundation, in partnership with Planet Water and Sesame Workshop, recently launched in the Philippines the Asia Water-for-Life Initiative in Baseco Elementary School, Tondo, Manila.

The project aims to provide clean, safe water and education on water-health and hygiene to disadvantaged communities across the Asia Pacific region, through the construction of Aqua Towers. Each Aqua Tower produces 10,000 liters of clean, safe drinking water per day, enough to support the daily drinking water requirements of up to 1,000 people.

In the Philippines, a total of 20 Aqua Towers will be constructed in Manila and Cebu, with the help of JPMorgan Chase employee volunteers. Sites where Aqua Towers will be put up include the following:

In Manila: Centex School, Baseco Elementary School, Corazon Aquino High School; Malabon: Concepcion Elementary School, Potrero Elementary School, Epifanio Delos Santos Elementary School, Amang Rodriguez Elementary School; Calauan, Laguna (three Aqua Towers): Oscar Lopez Elementary School;

North Cebu: Tiltilon Elementary School, Liloan; Cabadiangan Elementary School, Compostela; Sogod, Cebu: Damolog Elementary School, Calumboyan Elementary School, Tabunok Elementary School, Sogod Central Elementary School; South West Cebu: Palanas Elementary School, Jumangpas Elementary School, Ronda Central Elementary School, and Alcantara Elementary School.

Another component of the Asia Water-For-Life Initiative is a multi-media program that teaches children life-saving lessons about water-health and hygiene.

Sesame Street produced a video featuring their family of Muppets for classroom use and for broadcast via television in local markets to support the goals of the initiative. Elmo and his friends are featured in the videos, dubbed in Filipino, reinforcing how and when to wash hands, along with a demonstration of just how quickly germs are spread. The video is accompanied by a comprehensive Teacher’s Guide, providing suggestions for teachers on how to gain the most out of viewing the interactive video and instilling key messages in their students.

Through grants from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, an additional 25 Aqua Towers will be deployed in schools during the program’s second year is also expected that the program’s educational content will reach approximately 50,000 school children in its first year.

World Vision Philippines, one of JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s partners in implementing community renaissance and education programs, helped identify sites/schools for the Aqua Towers.

“The Asia Water-for-Life Initiative is an extremely important project and JPMorgan Chase is proud to support this across the Asia Pacific Region,” said Roberto Panlilio, JPMorgan Chase Philippine senior country officer. gWith the 20 Aqua Towers we are building in Manila and Cebu, we hope to help bring clean water to communities in need. h

“The latest Aqua Tower deployment in Manila is a great way to kick-off this educational initiative,” said Planet Water founder and CEO Mark Steele. “Working with JPMorgan Chase Foundation and Sesame Workshop helps us to educate children on water-health and hygiene, thus providing them with the necessary knowledge to educate others, such as family and friends, and to become catalysts for change.”

“We are thrilled to launch this material here in Manila. This is a greatly valued opportunity for us to deliver engaging educational content to children through television and outreach materials, h added Sesame Workshop president and CEO H. Melvin Ming.

Planet Water is a US-based, non-profit organization focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most disadvantaged communities through the installation of community-based water filtration systems and education programs on water-health and hygiene. The organization fs projects are focused on schools, children, and rural communities who lack access to clean, safe water. Planet Water has completed projects in nine countries across the Asia-Pacific region.