Through the sale of our premium bottled water, NIKA hopes to bring a voice to the world’s poor who suffer without the basic right to clean water and simple sanitation. And by donating 100% of our profits to support clean water projects in impoverished countries, NIKA will provide the basic tools and critical assistance to help thousands of families improve their lives in a meaningful way and end the cycle of poverty. Our goal is to create awareness and knowledge to serve as a catalyst for thousands of youth to get involved in our quest to bring clean water to the impoverished world.
Mindful of our duties as stewards of the Earth, NIKA has been certified as CarbonFree® by Carbonfund.org through our investment in carbon offsetting programs such as a reforestation project in Nicaragua. In addition, NIKA has developed a very unique recycling program where we pay high schools around the country a small fee for each plastic bottle that the school collects and recycles. Through this "One-for-One Recycling Program," our aim is not only to be plastic bottle neutral but an advocate of the importance and simplicity of basic recycling as well.
Our founders are a group of seasoned business executives who have successfully built and expanded for-profit businesses and who now share a common focus of creating social and environmentally responsible businesses that can be used to help solve global problems. Our founders have funded all of NIKA's startup and launch/operating losses and will realize no compensation or economic benefit from NIKA's operations. We are committed to making NIKA truly the most ethical bottled water brand on the market.
What is the crisis??
THE EARTH IS BECOMING MORE CROWDED
Within the next forty-five years, the world population is estimated to increase by 2.6 billion people and the bulk of this increase will occur in areas that are the least developed. This population growth, coupled with continued industrialization and urbanization of developing countries, will result in a heightened demand for water and an increase in polluted water, both of which will have serious adverse consequences on the environment.
Sadly, the availability of clean water in many underdeveloped areas of the world is extremely scarce as once dependable rainfall patterns are failing to replenish the local water table. The United Nations estimates that in 2005, 1.1 billion people (20% of the global population) lacked access to safe, affordable, drinking water, and 2.6 billion people (40% of the global population) lacked access to safe sanitation. About 80% of those lacking such access live in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Asia and Southern Asia. Without creative solutions to increase the availability of clean water, these impoverished communities around the world will continue to languish.
SPREAD OF WATER-RELATED DISEASE
Water-related diseases are one of the most devastating consequences resulting from a pervasive lack of clean water, destroying not only lives but also local economies. In 2004 alone, 2.2 million people died due to unsafe drinking water, most of which were children under the age of 5. This amounts to around 6,000 deaths a day. In addition, it is estimated that 50% of all hospital beds in the developing world are currently occupied by patients with diarrheal illness as a result of exposure to contaminated water. If the world does not act to provide basic access to clean water, as many as 135 million additional people will die from these water-related diseases by 2020. On top of the massive death toll, local economies and household budgets are drained by the constant need to purchase expensive medicines in order to combat the effects of consuming polluted water.
The solution to ending the cycle of poverty and disease in these impoverished communities is crystal clear: investment in the creation and strengthening of basic sanitation infrastructures to provide access to clean water. Improving sanitation infrastructure in these impoverished communities could reduce diarrhea-related deaths in young children by more than one-third and if hygiene promotion is added, such as simply teaching proper hand washing, deaths could be reduced by two thirds. Access to water must be a human right that all can enjoy and yet globally, it does not exist.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED
The lack of available clean water has other detrimental social consequences as well. Without the basic availability of toilets and in order to maintain their social dignity, women are forced to defecate only in secluded areas at night, making them susceptible to violence.
Furthermore, in the rural areas of many developing countries, women and children are not able to acquire an elementary education because they are required to provide water each day to their family or village. This can mean up to a 5-mile walk, one way, only to arrive at a river, pond or stream contaminated with bacteria. Furthermore, the containers used to transport water usually hold about 15 liters of water and weigh up to 15 kilograms. Such a physically difficult and time consuming responsibility means that these women and children are not able to go to school due to fatigue or simply because they are not afforded the time.
In addition, many young women in these areas are marrying between the ages of 12 and 16 years. By keeping these women in school, they can become educated and potentially avoid marrying at such a young age. This ultimately benefits the local community as older, more educated women might opt for smaller, more economically manageable family sizes resulting in more moderate population growth and less pressure on available resources. As surprising as it sounds, these positive changes all start with providing clean water to these families and their children so they can sustain safe and healthy lives and have the time and the strength to start and finish school.
How can you help??
Buy Nika Water! or any of their other great items! Donate to the cause, spread the word through facebook and twitter, raise awareness and dedicate yoursefl to drinking water that makes a difference!
Go here to check out their awesome website for more info!
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