CAIRO: This week, Coca-Cola in Egypt and CARE Egypt celebrated the completion of more than 650 water connections in Beni Suef out of a total 1,500 water connections. After almost one year of setting up the infrastructure that will connect families to clean water, today, the residents of Beni Suef are able to enjoy clean water in their homes. The project will connect an additional 850 households to safe drinking water by end of 2011. “In the last year we have dedicated our time and efforts to ensure the success of this initiative and today we announce and celebrate the first step of connecting more than 650 families to safe water. This initiative reinforces Coca-Cola's commitment to fostering sustainable communities,” said Omar Mandour, general manager of Coca-Cola Egypt and Libya. CARE Egypt Country Director Kevin Fitzcharles said, “When seeking partnerships with other private sector actors. I regularly cite Coca-Cola's strategic, integrated approach to water stewardship as an example that other companies could emulate.” Funded by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation's Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), this project aligns with the Government of Egypt's strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) around access to safe water and sanitation by halving the number of citizens without access by the year 2015. RAIN was launched by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation in 2009 in response to the severe challenges faced by the nearly 300 million Africans living without access to clean water. The Beni Suef project is an 18-month initiative with a total budget of more than LE 2 million. The project is part of the Coca-Cola Company's RAIN commitment to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation to communities across the African Continent. Beni Suef was selected for this project due to the high percentage of people that did not have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Upon competition, the project will provide access for 7,500 people in three villages: one in the district of Sumusta, one in El-Koum El-Ahmar, and one in the district of Ahnasia. The project will benefit 12,000 people, including 4,500 teachers and school children providing them with environmental and hygiene education. This is the second water program supported by The Coca-Cola Company in Egypt. Previously, together with USAID Egypt, the Government of Egypt Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, UNICEF, the International Resources Group, Coca-Cola worked to improve the management of liquid and solid wastes by constructing three wastewater treatment plants in Gharbiya and Luxor governorates.
