International Water Foundation One Drop Partners with METRO to Address Safe Water Access in India

NEW YORK, July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, international water foundation One Drop is proud to announce a partnership with international wholesale and food specialist METRO for a joint three-year project that will provide access to sustainable and safe water to about 250,000 people in India, one of the most affected areas in the world by the global water crisis. The collaboration is part of METRO's Water Initiative, a program that was started in 2017 to provide tips, tricks and products to customers who primarily own businesses to help them save water and money in running everyday business. During the partnership, a portion of products sold will support charitable projects like One Drop that are making an impact on the global water crisis.

METRO selected One Drop as their exclusive partner to support the United Nations' International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018 - 2028 to help reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, "Clean water and sanitation for all by 2030," one of the 17 interdependent SDGs for sustainable development of the UN's Agenda 2030.

Established in 2007, by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, with the vision of providing sustainable access to safe water around the world, One Drop has 13 active Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Latin America, Africa and India that will reach 1.3 million beneficiaries once completed. For One Drop, providing access to safe water is only the first step as its unique approach to WASH is intrinsically linked to the arts, leveraging its knowledge from Cirque du Soleil in the creation of Social Art for Behavior Change programs. These locally-inspired social art interventions such as theater, murals, videos and exhibitions foster positive behavior change and empower communities to take ownership of the projects over time.

With this new partnership, One Drop will match the funds raised via the METRO Water Initiative and will choose a NGO with local presence to design and execute the project in close collaboration with the Indian Governments. It is expected that the project's concept will be elaborated in 2018 and the collaborative design phase will kick off early in 2019 which will allow for its implementation to start in the field in June 2019. Over the next three years, One Drop's objective will be to ensure sustainability of the water and sanitation system adopted by the communities through its Social Art for Behaviour Change approach. By using social arts, One Drop will inspire, activate and maintain behaviour changes conducive to good water resources management and improved hygiene. By doing so, the project will also contribute to the reduction of waterborne diseases. "Together with One Drop, we are building a bridge into a future in which a community's daily life isn't determined by the struggles caused by the lack of safe access to water anymore," says METRO Chief Human Resources Officer Heiko Hutmacher.

"One Drop's singular purpose is to provide sustainable access to safe water around the world," said One Drop founder Guy Laliberté. "We are always looking to partner with other organizations who are also passionate about positively impacting this crisis, and who are willing to envision new and bold ways of driving results. We are thrilled to join METRO's Water Initiative to not just expand the reach and impact of our program, but to create lasting change in one of the most vulnerable regions in India with an ambitious project using Social Art for Behaviour Change."

About One Drop
One Drop is an international foundation created in 2007 by Cirque du Soleil's founder Guy Laliberté. At the core of its mission is access to water, sanitation and hygiene as a transformative force to improve the living conditions of some of the world's most vulnerable communities. With the objective of delivering long-term impact and sustainability, One Drop brings into all of its projects a unique Social Art for Behavior Change approach that aims at engaging communities in taking ownership and embracing adequate behaviors towards water, sanitation and hygiene. This year, One Drop is celebrating 10 years of bringing sustainable access to safe water to people around the world with projects in 13 countries that will reach 1.3 million beneficiaries.

To learn more about One Drop, visit www.onedrop.org.  Interact with One Drop on Facebook and Twitter at @onedrop, or on Instagram @1dropwater.

About METRO
METRO is a leading international specialist in wholesale and food retail. The company operates in 35 countries and employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2016/17, METRO generated sales of around ?37 billion. The company provides custom solutions to meet the regional and international needs of its wholesale and retail customers. With its sales brands METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry and Real as well as delivery services and digitalization initiatives METRO sets the standards for tomorrow: for customer focus, digital solutions and sustainable business models. To learn more about METRO, visit www.metroag.de/en or follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/METRO_News

SOURCE One Drop