water-jug-africa-ashoka.jpgA winner and three finalists from the Changemakers/Global Water Challenge are sharing a $1 million gift from the Coca Cola Foundation to bring clean water and sanitation to the far corners of the Earth.

“We believe (it) will start a ripple effect in their communities and create scalable, replicable and sustainable models that can be applied around the world,”  said Paul Faeth, President of Global Water Challenge.

More than a billion people worldwide lack a consistent supply of clean water and 2.6 billion do not have access to a safe toilet. But solutions abound…

The four organizations splitting the grant are:

Nandi Foundation: $500,000 for clean drinking water for underserved populations in India. Nandi was a competition winner.

Ecotact: $200,000 for treatment systems that safely transform waste into fuel and fertilizer for Kenyan communities

Manna Energy Foundation, $200,000 for water treatment plants to create fuel for families in rural Rwanda

Clean Shop, $100,000 for public education to support clean latrines for South African schools

“These four projects are among the most inspiring of the applications we received,” said the Executive Director of Ashoka’s Changemakers.

The competition, “Tapping Local Innovation: Unclogging the Water and Sanitation Crisis,” received 265 entries from 54 countries.

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