Siemens Stiftung was shortlisted with its “Safe Water Enterprises” project (SWE) as one of six organization engaged in the Kenyan WASH sector for the 2016 Maji Performance and Innovation Award (MaPIA).
The award recognizes exemplary performance and innovations geared towards increasing access, improving quality, and promoting conservation and governance in the water and sanitation sector in Kenya. It was initiated by the Kenya Water and Sanitation CSOs Network (KEWASNET), the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Swedish Agency for International Development Assistance (SIDA), the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, GIZ-IWASP and 2030 WRG.
The award’s objective is to identify, recognize and reward the most outstanding innovations in the Kenyan WASH sector that have contributed to the achievement of Kenya’s WASH goals under Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Out of all the outstanding entries for the competition, six projects were shortlisted in the category “civil society”. The project “Safe Water Enterprises” stood out due to its innovative approach in providing safe drinking water to underserved, remote communities. The SWE (locally also called the Maji Safi Kiosks) use the innovative SkyHydrant filtration technology of SkyJuice Foundation to treat contaminated water and are set up as social enterprises within communities, that are empowered to run the kiosks on a self-sustainable basis.
Today, there are still over 663 million people worldwide with no access to safe water. In Kenya’s rural areas, over 45% of the population remains without access to water that is safe for drinking. The MaPIA once more acknowledged the potential of innovative technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to tackle the issue of access to drinking water in an effective and sustainable way. On this note, Siemens Stiftung congratulates the Kenyan Red Cross for winning the first price in the category “Civil Society” with its engagement for water and hygiene in Kenya.