Dubai auction to raise money for safe water and sanitation projects
A non-profit organisation in Dubai is to auction off art created by interior designers to raise money for safe water services in poor communities.
Surge for Water has been providing water and sanitation for the needy since 2008.
Nature-inspired art will be sold to help the underprivileged in Uganda, the Philippines, Indonesia and Haiti.
“We have amazing partners in each of these countries and we support them with what they need to achieve,” said Marita Peters, from Surge for Water.
“We drill wells, fix broken wells, protect springs, build rainwater harvesting systems, water filters and more.
“If people have access to these then it leads to improvements in education, health, income and their overall well-being.”
Last year, one in four people worldwide lacked access to safe drinking water and nearly half the world’s population lacks safely managed sanitation, the UN children’s fund said.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a third of the world’s population did not have the means to wash their hands with soap and water at home.
Unicef said that if the trend continued, 1.6 billion people would be without safe drinking water and 2.8 billion would lack proper sanitation by 2030.
Eleven design houses have built sustainable art to be sold at auction at a dinner at The Address Dubai Marina on Wednesday.
One of the pieces, called Flocean – a sun lounger comprising blue masks, was created to raise awareness of the waste brought about by the pandemic.
Another piece is a freestanding solar-powered machine that serves as a source of safe drinking water.
Drinkable Air uses ozone purification and an electrostatic antimicrobial air filter.