Dubai: In the African country of Burundi, almost half the population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water.
It’s a situation that American singer Beyoncé is hoping to change.
On March 22, World Water Day, Beyoncé and Gucci announced a partnership to bring clean water to the country. With Chime for Change, Gucci’s global campaign for gender equality, the brand donated $1 million (Dh3.67 million) to the singer’s BeyGood4Burundi initiative, which she founded last year with United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to help bring safe water to the most vulnerable women and children in Africa.
Around one in nine people worldwide do not have access to safe and clean drinking water, according to US-based nonprofit organisation, The Water Project.
According to an article in the fashion industry trade journal Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), Gucci’s investment will help support the construction of 80 wells, providing more than 120,000 women, girls and their families with access to clean water.
The wells are in addition to the 35 already completed by the BeyGood4Burundi initiative, which is set to support 366,000 women and children by 2020.
Who’s involved?
Chime for Change, founded by Gucci in 2013, is a global campaign to advocate for causes related to girls and women around the world, with a focus on using innovative approaches to raise funds and awareness for education, health and justice projects. It was co-founded by Beyoncé and American-Mexican actress Salma Hayek.
While clean water is important for everyone, Chime for Change is taking a special interest in this project because of its implications for young girls.
Unicef USA posted this statement on their website, to share their hopes for the new BeyGood4Burundi initiative: “Access to clean, safe water means girls won’t be forced to walk long, often dangerous, distances where they are at risk of attack. When girls don’t have to walk for hours every day to collect safe water, they can go to school. When that school has clean toilets, they don’t have to skip class when they have their period. For girls, access to safe water is the foundation for equality.”
