JM Eagle CEO’s Dream of Delivering Clean Water to Rural African Villages Nears Realization
By Jm Eagle, PRNESunday, July 17, 2011
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 18, 2011 -
- Plastic-pipe
maker Walter Wang sees progress in three-country tour of
Sub-Saharan water infrastructure projects
Walter Wang, president and CEO of JM Eagle, recently concluded a
tour of water infrastructure in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya being
constructed with hundreds of miles of plastic water pipe his
company donated as part of his ongoing efforts to aid impoverished
villages in Africa.
Shipping from its plants in late 2009, the donation includes
nearly 400 miles of a variety of 2.5- to 6-inch pipes, worth
approximately $2 million, going to Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Malawi,
Rwanda, Ghana and Tanzania. In addition to the product
donation, Wang also provided funds to aid in the engineering and
design of the project.
“Water is the essence of life. Every human on this planet
should have access to clean water. I believe the single
greatest cause of extreme poverty in developing nations is a lack
of access to this simple element,” Wang said at a press conference
in Nairobi following the four-day tour. “We all deserve to have a
future filled with hope. Piping water to these villages, step by
step, will eventually lead them out of poverty and sickness and
show them a prosperous future. I thank God we are so blessed to be
able to do these projects.”
JM Eagle’s latest donation is part of a multi-phased broader
initiative, the Millennium Villages Project, launched by Columbia
University’s Earth Institute in 2005, which will ultimately provide
safer water to more than 125,000 people living in Africa’s most
needy communities.
In its initial phase, MVP used more than 70 miles of JM Eagle’s
plastic pipe to bring safe water to 67 villages and more than
13,500 people in Potou, Senegal. The Potou project has been in
operation since September 2008 with 85 active taps now in use.
Wang, whose Los Angeles-based company is the world’s largest
manufacturer of plastic pipe, was joined by Professor Jeffrey
Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, on the
trip to remote villages in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.
“Water is at the core of economic development and human
well-being,” Sachs said. “With water there can be productive
agriculture, good nutrition, sanitation and health. Without it
there is only poverty and disease. I am pleased to be able to
travel Africa again with my good friend Walter to see the
difference our partnership is making to the future of the
continent. Thanks to the generosity of private sector leaders like
Walter, we are changing that.”
Having toured Senegal at the completion of the first project in
February 2009, Wang’s latest visit is his second to Africa to
witness first-hand the construction progress at the Millennium
Villages his donations support and, more importantly, see the
positive effect that a clean, reliable water supply is having on
the people of these villages.
“In my first meeting with Jeff we discussed the water crisis in
Africa at length. His passion and knowledge of Africa captivated
me,” said Wang. “In learning more about the landscape I realized
something - Africa is not entirely water deficient, there must be a
good water source somewhere - it’s infrastructure deficient. No
matter how far it may be, it can be piped to the those in
need.”
One in five people in developing countries does not have access
to safe drinking water, and 2.2 million people die each year from
water-borne illness, 90 percent of them children under the age of
5, according to world-charity organizations.
Walter and his wife, Shirley Wang, founder and chief executive
officer of Plastpro Inc., demonstrate a strong commitment to
improving our global community through generous philanthropic
activities that span the world.
In developing countries, the Wangs have been leading supporters
of efforts to bring clean water to communities, believing this is
essential in addressing illness and poverty. In 2005, through
the Wangs’ initiative, JM Eagle provided plastic pipe and other
materials to transport drinking water from a mountain spring to a
community of 5,000 people in Honduras, and supported a project to
develop water delivery and sanitation systems for needy communities
in northern Thailand.
The Wangs have been dedicated supporters of projects that
address pressing social and healthcare problems in China, including
seed-stage and ongoing support for the China AIDS Initiative, an
awareness and prevention program. Through this organization,
they have funded public-service announcements that have reached 500
million people to help stop the spread of AIDS in China.
For more information about the Wang’s other philanthropic
projects please visit:
About JM Eagle™
With 22 manufacturing plants throughout North America,
JM Eagle manufactures the widest array of high-grade,
high-performance polyvinyl chloride and high-density polyethylene
pipe across a variety of industries and applications including
utility, solvent weld, electrical conduit, natural gas, irrigation,
potable water and sewage. More information can be found at
The Earth Institute at Columbia
University
Under the direction of
Jeffrey Sachs, The Earth Institute at Columbia University is an
interdisciplinary research institute that brings together talent
from throughout the university to address complex issues facing the
planet and its inhabitants, with particular focus on sustainable
development and the needs of the worlds’ poor. More
information can be found at
Marcus Galindo, +1-310-693-8200, Fax: +1-310-693-8249
Tags: Africa, Jm Eagle, July 18, kenya, Nairobi
