Cainta students get clean water and hygiene lessons from Amcor, Planet Water

A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed the installation of a brand-new AquaTower built by Planet Water and Amcor to provide clean water for the students of Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal. Shown at the front row from the right are: Dario Operario, Project Manager of Planet Water; Renato Guivencan, GPTA President of Exodus Elementary School; Lito Trilles, General Manager of Amcor Tobacco Packaging Philippines; Maria Ontanco, HR Manager of Amcor Tobacco Packaging Philippines; Fe Año, Principal of Exodus Elementary School; Brgy. Captain Wilfredo C. Felix; along with Lara Donovan, Global Communications Manager of Amcor Tobacco Packaging; and other GPTA and faculty members of the school.

In anticipation of World Water Day on March 22, Amcor Tobacco Packaging (Amcor) and Planet Water have joined forces to provide clean and safe water for students and neighboring residents of Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal, last Thursday, March 12, 2015.

An AquaTower – a fully operational water tank that can store up to 10,000 liters of clean, safe water per day – was installed at the public school to provide clean drinking water for the children of the school and the surrounding local community. The inauguration of the new water system was followed by representatives of Amcor and Planet Water spending time with the students of Exodus Elementary School to impart lessons about water-health and hygiene.

“Children are catalysts of change, what they learn through our modules can be passed to their family at home, which can spread and create an impact to the community as well. More importantly, developing good hygiene is a personal habit these children should start at an early age; a habit they must continue until they get old,” said Camille Quiambao, education specialist of Planet Water.

The multi-media program designed by Planet Water imparts life-saving lessons to children about water-health and hygiene, including germs, how they spread, and how to incorporate hygienic practices, such as hand washing, into their everyday lives.

“In our modules, we have lots of activities and games. So it’s more enjoyable for the students and at the same time they are also learning,” Quiambao added. Students at Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal line up to wash their hands at the AquaTower installed by Amcor after learning the importance of hand washing as a way to protect against germs.

Amcor’s commitment to supporting communities neighboring their sites across the globe was one of the reasons why Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal was chosen for the project.

“We worked closely with the Red Cross to identify a school close to our existing plant to teach the hygiene program,” said Mr. Lito Trilles, General Manager of Amcor Tobacco Packaging Philippines.

“And one of the appeals of this school is that it is also used by the local community as a center of refuge in crisis situations, like typhoons, along with the fact that the school has a very strong relationship with the local community — which meant that it will not just be the school and children, but the community within the vicinity of the school will also benefit from the AquaTower, which can support the daily drinking water requirements of up to 1,000 people,” Trilles added.

The partnership with Planet Water is part of Amcor’s new corporate social responsibility program, Amcor Community Program. The program was launched in 2014, and it will see Amcor donate $5M AUD over the next five years in support of the local communities in which Amcor’s sites are located across the globe. Throughout March and April, Amcor is working with Planet Water to provide support in the Philippines, India, and Indonesia.

“Social Responsibility is a core value of Amcor. It's important that we give our co-workers the opportunity to engage with the local communities that support our sites, and the Amcor Community Program empowers our sites across the world to do exactly that. Our co-workers are able to apply for funding that is used to contribute to an appropriate cause that either protects our food, educates around the benefits of responsible packaging, protects the environment or delivers essential products and services to those in need. The installation of Planet Water's AquaTower is a perfect example of how Amcor's Community Program delivers benefits to the local community,” said David Clark, Amcor's global Vice President of Safety, Sustainability and Environment.

As of 2010, 16% of Filipino households lacked access to clean and potable water, the National Statistical Coordination Board reported. And in a separate study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and National Water Resources Board (NWRB), it was estimated that all major cities in the Philippines will experience water shortages by 2025 (Source: Senate Economic Planning Office, 2011).

Reports published by the World Health Organization and UNICEF show that 884 million people in the world do not have improved sources of drinking of water, 55% (482 million) of whom live in Asia. Each year, 3.6 million people die of water-related disease. Unsafe drinking water is a major cause of diarrhea, which is the second leading killer of children, with more than 4,000 children under the age of five dying each day. According to the United Nations, hand washing with soap at critical times can reduce the incidence of diarrhea by up to 47%.

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About Amcor

Amcor (ASX: AMC) applies art and science to create responsible packaging solutions that enhance the products people use in everyday life. With global leadership positions in flexibles and rigid plastics packaging, Amcor continually innovates to find new and better ways to protect essential products such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, personal and household goods. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Amcor employs 27,000 people worldwide and has operations across 43 countries. Amcor currently operates one plant in the Philippines, located in Rizal, as part of the global Tobacco Packaging business, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Tobacco packaging is produced in over 20 manufacturing plants worldwide manned by over 4000 employees. Just late last year, another Amcor business group, Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, the largest flexible packaging manufacturer in the region, announced plans for a multimillion-dollar flexible packaging plant in the Philippines as it targets to further expand its footprint in Asia. More information about Amcor is available at https://www.amcor.com.

About Planet Water

Planet Water Foundation is a U.S.-based, non-profit organization focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most disadvantaged communities through the installation of community-based water filtration systems and education programs on water-health and hygiene. Planet Water has brought clean water to nearly a half-million people in 12 countries across Asia and Latin America. More information about Planet Water is available at http://www.planet-water.org.