Oxfam Water for Survival Programme launched today

Oxfam New Zealand and Water for Survival have joined forces to address a growing need for basic water supplies and sanitation facilities in the poorest regions of the world. The joining creates Oxfam’s Water for Survival Programme from today.

This will step up the programme of water and sanitation projects to benefit communities in developing nations.

Water for Survival’s volunteer networks bring their specialised experience in funding water and sanitation projects to the new programme. Oxfam New Zealand has a proven track record too, following many similar, successful projects as part of its humanitarian and development focus.

“By joining forces we can increase our effectiveness, and do more to provide the programmes so desperately needed,” said John la Roche, founder of Water for Survival. New Zealanders’ appreciation of the group’s work has been so keen that both demand and support just keep on increasing, he says.

Since its establishment over 15 years ago, Water for Survival has been run on a voluntary basis by Sue and John la Roche from their Auckland home with support from regional coordinators. It has helped over 585,000 of the world’s poorest people. But now, the organisation has become just too big.

“It would not have been possible to sustain Water for Survival’s growth if we’d continued to operate on a purely voluntary basis,” John says. “I anticipate many advantages in this partnership with Oxfam, with its high profile and huge credibility worldwide.”

Water for Survival currently supports a number of projects in India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Kenya. Both Oxfam and Water for Survival have a policy of working alongside local organisations, involving the people who will benefit from the programme in the planning and implementation.

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