GloFish® Clean Water Initiative Brightens Kenyan Community’s Health, Sustainable Future

GloFish brand has been a longtime supporter of clean-water initiative Well Aware and its mission to provide innovative solutions to water scarcity and contamination in communities around the world. In November, the organization implemented a new clean-water well in Musalaani/Miumbuni in central Kenya, made possible by funds raised by Spectrum Brands employees last spring to help build life-saving water systems.

The new well meets the needs of approximately 3,000 people in the Musalaani/Miumbuni settlement, including two schools and a nearby medical clinic. The primary school itself will have piped water, and the entire community will have access to fresh water. As they drilled, the Well Aware team worked with the community to conduct water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training, and strategize with the settlement’s Water Committee.

Commitment to Clean Water: November Dig

The new well means a different way of life for the community. Before the well, the community relied on collecting and consuming untreated water from rainwater and a man-made dam, leaving its people prone to chronic illness.

“This dig means a lot to me personally, as I had the privilege of spending some time at the Misuuni primary school in Miumbuni with the Well Aware team last February,” said John Fox, Division Vice President of Aquatics Operations at Spectrum Brands-Pet Care. “It was humbling for our volunteers to see children fill jerry cans after school in a dirty pond at the local man-made dam.”

“After seeing the amazing impact of Well Aware’s work in other communities in Kenya, I know that this dig will change the lives of the children at Misuuni primary school for years to come, and Spectrum Brands feels so blessed to be part of making that happen,” Fox said.

A Show of Support

To fund future wells that provide life-changing clean water through Well Aware, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Spectrum Brands employee teams will once again take the Shower Strike pledge in April 2019, promising to go without showers for a week until they meet their team fundraising goals. These ongoing initiatives are all part of the GloFish® Clean Water Initiative. By reducing waterborne diseases, the GloFish Clean Water Initiative has saved thousands of lives and has committed to continue plans to bring clean water to an additional 100,000 people in Africa by 2023.

Learn more about Spectrum Brands’ work with Well Aware through this short video below, or find out about the rewarding aspects of fishkeeping—specifically the unique beauty of GloFish® fluorescent fish—in the GloFish® mini-documentary. GloFish fluorescent fish are easy for entry-level hobbyists to care for and captivate longtime aquarists.