The Impact of Relate Water: Bringing Clean Water to Communities
Clean water is a fundamental human right that many people, specifically women and children still lack access to. For a moment, we’d like you to imagine a life where access to safe, clean water isn't guaranteed—yeah, tough, isn’t it? This is a reality for almost 5 million people here in South Africa where women and their children still find themselves walking kilometres to collect water from unsafe, polluted sources.
Relate Water, a division of the nonprofit organization Relate, is committed to changing this reality by ensuring that clean water becomes standard for those who need it most. For this reason, we are so excited to have them as our client and together we are working towards ensuring South Africa becomes a water-secure country for all who live in it.
Who is Relate Water?
Relate Water operates under the umbrella of Relate, a nonprofit renowned for its impactful social initiatives. Focused on addressing the water crisis in South Africa, Relate Water partners closely with Innovation: Africa, South Africa, a globally recognized nonprofit. Since 2008, Innovation: Africa, South Africa, has brought solar, water, and agricultural technologies to rural African villages, positively impacting the lives of 700,000 people with readily available access to clean water.
The Ripple Effect: Providing Access to Clean Water
We understand that at the heart of Relate Water's mission, is the belief that everyone deserves access to clean, safe water. They collaborate with local communities and organizations like Innovation: Africa, South Africa to implement sustainable water solutions. These initiatives not only provide immediate access to water but also empower communities by creating local employment opportunities and fostering long-term sustainability. They do this through a ten-step process throughout 3 to 4 months.
Brand Strategy
We’d love to give a huge shoutout to the Kane & Able team for their exceptional brand strategy, which perfectly aligns with Relate Water's objectives. Kane’s clear vision and creative direction alongside his stellar team, ensured our messaging was consistent and aligned with our desired outcomes. By making the brand approachable and playful, they fostered a true sense of community and loyalty and brought authenticity to Relate Water. We are so excited to see where his vision will take us next.
How It Works
Bringing clean water to a village involves a comprehensive process:
Needs Assessment and Planning: Relate Water assesses the water needs of communities and plans the installation of sustainable water systems.
Implementation: Working closely with Innovation: Africa, South Africa, Relate Water sources clean underground water and initiates the installation of water systems. This phase typically takes 3 to 4 months.
Community Involvement: Local teams are then hired and trained to manage and maintain the water systems, ensuring that the investment continues to benefit the community long after installation addressing sustainability and impact.
Our successful activation: Nomu Wa Huku Village
We recently collaborated with Lauren Gillis, Founder and CEO of Relate and Relate Water, to launch a community-based fundraiser called the Relate Water Walk. There was a need to ensure this activation was a success is because this water crisis was severely impacting the community's primary water source that is used for drinking, cleaning, and cooking, leading to frequent waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea, which affected both children and adults.
As you can imagine, this makes it much harder for people to find employment if they are concerned with their survival. Consequently, it was imperative to mobilize funds through the Relate Water Walk to provide clean water. Each $25 donation from the run ensured one person would have water for life. This event invited companies and individuals to pay $25 to enter the run, with each entry providing one person with water for life. Life! Through this initiative, we raised nearly enough funds online to bring an entire village access to clean water.
Making an Impact: The Cost
The impact of providing clean water is profound but comes with a cost. It costs approximately R1.5 million to bring clean water to an entire village of up to 10,000 people. This investment not only provides life-changing access to water but also contributes to improved health outcomes, economic opportunities, and overall community well-being.
You can make a ripple effect by visiting their new e-commerce website which we successfully built and launched. This has empowered individuals and businesses to join us in making clean water accessible to communities in need across South Africa.
We are excited to be working with Relate and giving people the power to turn on their taps and have access to clean water for the rest of their lives.
TREESHAKE TEAM
Creative Director: Megan Damon
Technical Lead: Max Kaizen
Strategist: Chris Roets
Advisor: Dave Duarte
Design: Franci Weiner
Community: Phumelele Mbatha
