Africa Water for Schools | The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation

Left: Healthy children are tomorrow's future football stars. Top right: During a break from classes at Welamlambo Primary School in Johannesburg, South Africa, students line up at the tap for a drink of water. Bottom right: Students celebrating hygiene improvements after repairs were made to the schools broken sinks and taps in Enkangala Primary School in South Africa.

Many schools in South Africa do not have access to clean drinking water due to their remote location or lack of municipal supply infrastructure. In fact, contaminated drinking water and inadequate sanitation are major contributors to Africa's high child mortality rate. Easily treatable waterborne illnesses also leave millions of children with chronic malnutrition. These associated health and environmental risks, together with the lack of appropriate facilities, generally result in high absenteeism rates in schools, especially among girls.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF), in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education in the Republic of South Africa and H20 for Life, is working to bring clean drinking water to schools across South Africa.

This three-year initiative will provide clean drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene education to 100 schools across South Africa. Additionally, RAIN Water for Schools will benefit 100 schools in other African countries to bring the total number of schools to 200.

The program is a component of the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) which aims to provide clean water to over two million people in Africa by 2015. It is also TCCAF's legacy program for the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup.

Programs to be implemented at each school include providing access to clean water through rainwater harvesting technology, drilling wells or boreholes, fixing dilapidated water supply equipment and providing adequate sanitation facilities.

Through these collective efforts, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation hopes to provide Africa's schoolchildren with a chance for a healthier, enriched life.