How Your Jewellery Supports The Water Project Charity

3 min read

How Your Jewellery Supports The Water Project Charity

We talk a great deal about how we take charge of our production and support ethical sourcing, but taking responsibility as a business owner can also mean supporting other causes.

We donate quarterly to our chosen charity, The Water Project. Some companies choose to donate a percentage of their profit to charities. But if we follow this rule, with all the costs involved in running a business our profits are very small, and we won't be making much of a difference. This is why we have committed to donate, whether we have profits or not. Call us crazy, but we want to make a difference and help those less fortunate. 




Who do we choose to help?

Our reason for choosing this charity is to help the water problems in Sierra Leone, a country that suffered eleven years of civil war in part due to fighting over the diamond mining industry and traffic of blood diamonds. As an ethical jewellery brand we feel it is our responsibility to right these wrongs. Even today, too many children suffer needlessly - walking miles for dirty water that makes them sick. By purchasing gifts with us and your help rallying support we can provide clean, safe and reliable water to a community in Africa.

 

Where does the money go?

Our donations go the the Ibinzo community. There are currently 245 people living in this area, with the average family size being seven to eight. All of these people rely on dirty water from their spring, the Lucia Spring. The Lucia Spring is open to all kinds of contamination, and the water is visibly filthy. Imagining how the young ones, women, and men are consuming such water is heart breaking. People in this community suffer a lot. 

 

"Most of the community members suffer from typhoid after drinking this unsafe water."


The poor drainage at these water points creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and those who live nearby can suffer from malaria.

 

 

How is the money used?

In many communities like Ibinzo, natural springs exist as water flows from cracks in rocky ground or the side of a hill.  Springs provide reliable water but that doesn’t mean safe. When left open they become contaminated by surface contamination, animal and human waste and rain runoff. The solution is to protect the source.

First, you excavate around the exact source area of the spring. Then, you build a protective reservoir for water flow, which leads to a concrete spring box and collection area. Safe water typically flows year-round and there is very limited ongoing maintenance needed!

 

"With the help of the Water Project, community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least two days."


This training will ensure participants have the knowledge they need about healthy practices and their importance. They cover topics like the handling, storage, and treatment of water in group demonstrations and discussions.

 




What can you do?

Be an activist doesn't always mean waving a placard... it means being mindful with your wallet and putting your money where your mouth is. By choosing to shop with ethical companies over non-ethical ones, you are taking a stand. You’re directly helping us to support charities that tackle important environmental issues.
 

"Let’s change the world, one piece of jewellery at a time…"


By purchasing our ethical jewellery, not only are you taking something beautiful home with you, you are ensuring we are able to comfortably continue making it, so we can continue supporting these causes – which is a win-win situation!


See for yourself the work we do! Take a look at our fundraising page to see exactly where the money goes...

 
Want to read more about the beauty of ethics? Find out how we ensure our jewellery is great for the planet and the people who help us make it.

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Grace Clements
Grace Clements

Ruby McGonigle is a copywriter and digital marketing guru with two years of jewellery industry experience now behind her. After recently having attained a degree in Linguistics, she now hones her passion for writing and adoration of jewellery into creating engaging copy for Lebrusan Studio. Among bi-monthly blog posts exploring a broad range of topics, notable examples of her previous work include a think piece on the ‘natural diamonds vs. lab-grown diamonds’ debate, a probe into why traceable and third party certified ASM gold is so important, and an investigation of why platinum is no longer more expensive than gold.