For More Information Contact:

Alissa Sears
Global Betterment Director
Director of Business Development

ChristieCommunications
800 Garden Street, Suite B
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
P 805.969.3744
F 805.969.3697
alissa@christiecomm.com

Christie Communications Sudan Project - May 2009 [DOWNLOAD PDF (1.4 MB)]

After a year of development, Christie Communications' Global Betterment Sector, CAN-DO Organization, and Safe Water International have launched a joint private sector/non-profit collaboration program in Sudan.

FACTS:

• Over 2 million people have died in the civil war that has ravaged the southern region of Sudan for 40 of the last 52 years.
  
  
• Over 5 million people have been displaced; over 1.2 million children are now considered orphans.
  
  
• Infrastructure has been destroyed; education systems have been paralyzed.
  
  
• In the present conflict in Darfur the UN estimates that an additional 200,000 have died and 2 million have fled their villages.
  
  
• In some regions, up to 85% of all illnesses are water-related due to severe contamination and lack of access to clean drinking water.

SOLUTION:

Can-Do Organization in coordination with Christie Communications' Global Betterment Sector, Solar Energy Enterprises Ltd., Matrix for Economic & Financial Consultancy, Safe Water International, and the Rural Development Department of Ahfad University for Women, will set corrective measures to provide integrated micro-financing solutions to promote community empowerment and economic stability whilst addressing the most critical issue facing Sudanese society today, the severe lack of clean drinking water.

Our solution is to provide a water program that will revolutionize the water distribution model in sub-saharan Africa. Our primary target is target is the construction of wells for the displaced persons of Darfur . The internally displaced in the Khartoum area alone number an estimated 2 million. The per capita consumption of water in rural areas is less than 5 L/D, with the rest being obtained from polluted traditional sources, or by demand suspension, at the expense of human health and stability. We have a quite a task ahead.

Under our plan one well would provide 25,000 gallons a day. This has the potential to nearly double per capita consumption from a healthy source, resulting in the decline of water-borne illness.

The priority is to make the program a demand driven, market activity. The existing drinking water private market in many parts of Greater Khartoum is flourishing. Donkey carts, using recycled 44 gallon drums as tanks, are numerous, they usually buy the water and distribute it to their customers, increasing the cost to the customers.

We currently seek financial support to fund the Community-Based Organization at Umbada IDP Camp, as developed by Ahfad University for Women's Rural Development Department, to own and operate the project and pay back from the proceeds of the sales of water (which the aforementioned market will support). The project will eventually attempt to avail finance for the owners of the donkey carts. This can be arranged by making agreements with the cart manufacturers (also supplying the motive force – the donkey), who would deal with the individual buyers. In this way the project will not be directly involved in debt collection but is focused on the perpetual self-funding and regenerative growth as fueled by the imminent demand-driven market forces.