PureDrops goes Rwanda

Dear potential supporter of our campaign,

we, that is 5 students of the University of St. Gallen, formed a team to provide early childhood education centers in Rwanda with clear water access.

Since 2011, we have been donating water filters to people without access to clean drinking water in rural areas around the world. After successful missions in Indonesia, Guatemala, and Uganda, we are now looking forward to carry on the success story to Rwanda, a country in desperate need of water purification.

We continue the fruitful partnership with the social enterprise “Spouts of Water” - a producer of ceramic water filters in Kampala, Uganda. In January to February 2022, our team will travel to Rwanda to support Spouts’ operations and to hand out ceramic water filters to communities in need.

We invite you to support us on our mission to provide people who are most in need with access to clean drinking water.

Who are we?

PureDrops is a young not-for-profit organization founded by master students of the University of St. Gallen, as part of their Master's Degree of Strategy and International Management . This year, our team is comprised of five students: Helena from Portugal, Daohan from China, Jeremy from Austria, and Johannes and Marc from Germany.

What is our mission & vision?

Our mission: We are a team of socially-conscious students who strive to provide people most in need with access to clean drinking water. We want to do so in the most efficient and effective way possible, in order to improve their health, education, and disposable income.

Our vision: We want to live in a world where everyone has access to clean drinking water.

What do we do?

Remote regions in underdeveloped and developing countries are in desperate need for clean water, as governments are capable of just providing the necessary infrastructures and financing to communities in large cities. That is why PureDrops aims at equipping exactly these underprivileged communities with the tools and knowledge necessary to provide themselves with clean water.

We do so by partnering up with local social enterprises, which make use of the open-sourced ceramic water filter technology . We aim to solve local water-crises through three pillars. First, we raise funding in order to buy and distribute water filters to communities that are most in need of clean drinking water. Second, we help our local partner to scale up their business - and make a bigger social impact - through market research and operational consulting. Third, we aim to increase the awareness of the importance of clean drinking water by providing workshops to local schools and community centers.

Who will we work with this year?

This year, we continue and intensify the partnership with Spouts of Water (also referred to as "Spouts"). Spouts is a social business located in Rubaga, Uganda. Spouts aims to provide safe water access through the distribution of Purifaaya, a ceramic water filter which they manufacture locally at their site close to Kampala. Spouts produces three types of water filters, the Purifaaya Regular, the Viva Purifaaya, and the Purifaaya XL. To provide as many people as possible with clear drinking water, we intend to primarily purchase the Purifayaa XL, which costs 84 USD (approx. 78 CHF) and serves schools and refugee camps with water for their populations.

Spouts’ business model is based on price discrimination such that wealthier clients pay more in order for Spouts to be able to subsidize the poorer clients. To date, Spouts has sold more than 52k units of Purifaaya in Uganda and across East Africa. It is a trusted product that has been tested and certified bz the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda.

What is the problem?

Almost half of the population in Uganda - that is, 13 million - does not have access to safe drinking water within half an hour away from their home. Children and adults often have to rely on swamps and boreholes for their water. This situation translates into thousands of children being sick and at risk of death every year. Diarrhea alone is the third leading cause of death for children aged 5 years old or younger. Cholera, typhoid and hepatitis outbreaks caused by unsafe water force the closure of schools. At the same time, children are often unable to attend classes due to their precarious health. All those factors hamper their cognitive development and opportunity to have a better future. In addition, the task of sourcing water is usually performed by women and girls, leading to a high level of gender inequality with regards to obtaining education and professional skills.

On the other hand, little emphasis has been attributed to ensuring that families in Rwanda have a sufficient understanding of the importance of clean drinking water. It is therefore of crucial importance that the distribution of filters be accompanied with sufficient education to ensure proper use of the filters and understanding of their importance. In this sense, our purpose is not only to “providing filters to as many families as possible”, but also to ensure that filters are adequately used.

How can you support us?

Crowdfunding donations will be used to buy and distribute the clean drinking water filters to schools and communities most in need. By contributing to our project you can thus make a direct long-term sustainable impact on the lives of many Rwandans!

Thank you!

Your PureDrops Team