JM Eagle, H2O Africa Team Up for Water
JM Eagle of Livingston, N.J., the world's largest plastic pipe manufacturer, has partnered with The H20 Africa Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on creating widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa and support for solutions.
As part of the agreement, JM Eagle will be H20 Africa's official supplier of infrastructure materials, providing high-strength PVC piping products at cost, and commit $150,000 to the foundation.
H20 Africa is the charitable component of "Running the Sahara," an historic expedition and feature documentary film. The film chronicles the historic quest of three men to run across the Sahara Desert, a journey of over 4,600 miles that took 111 days. H20 Africa was founded by Executive Producer Matt Damon and the producers of the film as they became aware of the world water crisis and its impact on the region where the expedition and film took place.
"We're excited to be part of this important project, and believe our extensive experience in water infrastructure will add real value and support to the overall H20 Africa initiative," said Walter Wang, chief executive officer of JM Eagle. "Living without a consistent source of clean water is not just a concern – it's a crisis. In helping to develop the necessary water infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa, we are fulfilling an immediate need, as well as providing the basis for long-term, sustainable solutions."
Wang added that the ultimate goal is to build a water infrastructure that will be the link to health and economic prosperity in communities throughout sub-Saharan African. "Most developing countries in the world are not water-deficient—they're infrastructure deficient," commented Wang.
"We're extremely pleased to have JM Eagle as a partner," commented Jim Van Eerden, chair of The H20 Africa Foundation. "Their deep knowledge and expertise regarding water infrastructure will play a key role in helping us continue to provide safe water that enables entire communities to pull themselves out of the cycle of poverty."
Van Eerden noted that by working with established NGO's – that are on the ground in Africa and overseeing H20 Africa programs – JM Eagle will help to identify and provide the necessary materials for a variety of individual projects like deep-well drilling, irrigation system construction, and routing fresh water resources to communities in Niger, Mali, Senegal, and other countries across Africa.