Xylem Watermark & Project 24: Malinao, Philippines

Malinao is located high on the mountain of Batangas, a region that is nearly impossible to access without a four-wheel-drive truck, especially on slippery slopes during the rainy season. Villagers earn a meager income growing livestock and planting crops. A few families sell wood and charcoal – both valued commodities. Renting motorcycles is expensive, so they typically transport their products by foot to the lowland and make the return walking up the slippery hillside.

With an average monthly income of 60 USD, families cannot afford purified drinking water. Instead, they collect water from the river where they also do their laundry and bathe. There are cases of waterborne diseases among children, but these are often neglected because of a lack of transportation, communication and other basic necessities.

“My two year-old sister always has a tummy ache because of the drinking water. Some grown-ups say that the water from the river is good for drinking. However, my guess is it gets contaminated when we carry it to our home.” - Efren, 12

Most students walk from their homes to the school. There is not enough water in school, so they carry containers from their homes. With an AquaTower from Planet Water and Xylem Watermark, their supply of clean, filtered water will be dependable; a rare situation for these families.

Read the complete article on planet-water.org.

About Xylem Watermark

Xylem Watermark, Xylem’s corporate citizenship program, provides and protects safe water resources for many of the world’s most vulnerable communities and educates individuals around the globe about water issues. This social commitment reflects Xylem’s ethos of valuing the “triple bottom-line:” financial, environmental and social. The company firmly believes in the notion of doing well by doing good, and dedicates resources to initiatives that demonstrate its commitment.

Xylem Watermark was founded in 2008 and, with its six nonprofit partners, has provided clean water and sanitation solutions to over three million people in 25 countries. Xylem launched its first Global Month of Service in October 2016 to provide a focused time to inspire employees to get involved and bring the mission of Xylem Watermark to their communities. In 2017, Xylem Watermark launched the Make Your Mark 30 Day Challenge to engage employees in solving global and local water issues in ways about which they are passionate.

To learn more about Xylem Watermark, please visit http://www.xylemwatermark.com.