21/12/2020 - Patronage

Patronage 2020 – Aquassistance

IN 2020, LABARONNE-CITAF IS JOINING FORCES WITH AQUASSISTANCE IN ITS MISSION

“MAKING ACCESS TO WATER AND SANITATION A KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”

Although “access to safe drinking water and sanitation” has been recognized as a Human Right since 2010, almost half of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water. Thus, unsafe water is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world.
Throughout 2020, Labaronne-Citaf has been mobilised alongside Aquassistance, setting up sustainable actions in terms of water, sanitation and waste management.

2ND EDITION: NEW PARTNERSHIP, SAME MISSION

For this 2nd edition, our company has committed itself to Aquassistance, a humanitarian association of SUEZ Group employees, by supporting its various actions around the world.

Today, nearly a quarter of the world’s population is under very serious water stress. In addition, global warming intensifies and increases all natural risks, which have a direct impact on the water cycle.
It is therefore important to be able to help populations to develop a rapid and efficient system of drinking water resources in very arid or desert areas, but also to be able to provide emergency relief in the event of natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, fires, etc.) which often lead to a lack of consumable fresh water.

Water is a source and a lever for sustainable development that conditions the future of Mankind and, beyond that, that of the entire biosphere.

THE 2020 PROJECT: “€1 DONATED FOR EVERY ORDER PLACED”

“In 2019, we were very satisfied to have been able to contribute to overcoming the health challenges that threaten Africa, by supporting Solidarités International. This project inspired each of our employees and made us want to repeat the operation. But preventing hygiene problems linked to unsafe water is not an end in itself. We have to do more.”, explains Benoît Balandras, CEO of Labaronne-Citaf.

“Another equally important challenge is to be able to help the poorest people to develop a sustainable and adequate solution for the management of their resources. In this way, water and sanitation can be a real lever for development in these countries, and this will have a positive impact on food security, health, but also gender equality and the living conditions of the inhabitants.”

This is why, throughout the year 2020, Labaronne-Citaf donated 1€ to Aquassistance for every order placed. Each purchase thus becomes a gesture of solidarity!

A HEART-WARMING TESTIMONY

“The Aquassistance association would like to thank Labaronne-Citaf for its sponsorship operation in 2020. The donation of €2,500 to our association proves once again that Labaronne-Citaf is a committed company with a heart.
Labaronne-Citaf and Aquassistance have a long history of collaboration (more than 15 years), since Labaronne-Citaf flexible tanks are an integral part of Aquassistance’s CDF5000 emergency water treatment stations. To name just a few of the most notable humanitarian interventions, they were used during the tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, and after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (2016) and Cyclone Idai in Mozambique (2019).

The tanks have also been used to train NGO partner teams, such as in the framework of the Indian Ocean Regional Response Platform (PIROI) implemented in Mayotte, where Aquassistance provided training in 2017 and 2019 to Red Cross and Red Crescent teams. Everywhere, Aquassistance’s emergency volunteers have appreciated the qualities of Labaronne-Citaf’s flexible tanks: compact, easy to transport and install, robust, compatible with drinking water.”

THE PROJECT CARRIED OUT THANKS TO THE DONATION

With the donation from Labaronne-Citaf, Aquassistance was able to finish developing an emergency desalination plant, which has been underway since 2019. It meets a strong need, particularly in the West Indies, after the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria, and in regions where the only water resource is brackish or salty (low islands, deltas and estuaries, etc.).

This station includes, among other things, a osmosis unit and flexible storage tanks.

Tests of the prototype have already been carried out on the Mediterranean coast and in the Paris region.

EMERGENCY WATER TREATMENT UNITS

One of the association’s volunteers explains to us how the volunteers are currently organizing themselves in the field, thanks to our flexible tanks:

They have designed a mobile water production unit capable of treating very poor quality water and distributing 5,000 litres of drinking water per hour. This guarantees access to drinking water for thousands of people following natural disasters or population displacements. Designed to be “light” (1.8 tons) and deployable in emergency conditions (disaster areas, without electricity, etc.), each mobile water treatment unit includes 3 flexible tanks and 2 self-supporting basins for different treatment stages.”

TO KEEP IN MIND: a mobile unit can therefore meet the needs of 6,000 people per day, at the minimum subsistence level recommended by the WHO, of 20L of water/person/day.

KNOW MORE ABOUT AQUASSISTANCE

Aquassistance is an international solidarity association that works to improve access to water, sanitation and waste management for vulnerable populations. Aquassistance was created following the mobilisation of active and retired employees of Lyonnaise des Eaux (SUEZ) to re-establish the supply of drinking water to populations displaced during the civil war in Rwanda. For a long time specialised in emergency interventions to restore access to water following natural disasters or population displacements, Aquassistance has gradually opened up to development aid projects in the fields of water, sanitation and waste.

More about the NGO

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