World Water Day:

MTN Foundation Brings Portable Water to Distressed Cameroonians

Since 2006, MTN Cameroon’s social commitment through its Foundation has made it possible to deploy 46 drinking water points in rural areas, according to a release issued on 22 March 2018.

By Innocent Kum in Yaounde

Students at an MTN Foundation Water Point in Adinkol, East Region

MTN Foundation, the first corporate Foundation in Cameroon has joined the national and international community in celebrations marking World Water Day on 22 March 2018, stated a release, which added that it was an opportunity for MTN Foundation to reassert its commitment to contributing and easing access to drinking water by disadvantaged populations in Cameroon, while also drawing their attention to the need to take care of this indispensable resource.

            MTN Foundation has so far helped to build 46 drinking water points for the benefit of about 170,000 people in several regions of Cameroon, according to the release, which adds that these drinking water points are deployed mostly in rural areas where access to drinking water constitutes a great challenge to the population, exposing them to waterborne diseases.

The potable water points built by MTN Foundation are of several types:

            -           Manual pump wells realized in partnership with the Otele Potable Water Project (PEP Project)

            -           Several boreholes realizedin partnership with various bodies such as GIZ

            -           Full potable water supply projects with distribution networkssuch as the one realized in the locality of Nzemelem, 25Km from Dschang in the West Region or those ongoing, with the “Villages des Jeunes Agriculteurs” project led by the Ministry of Agriculture in Nlobesse (South Region) and Wassande (Adamawa Region).

            It is worth noting that, MTN Foundation has also installed some water points in schools built by the MTN Foundation. These water points are built with latrines for better hygiene of students in particular and the education community in general.

According to Melvin AKAM, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation, forty-six water points “are not enough given the overall needs in the ten regions of the country. However, this is a way for MTN Foundation to contribute to the wellbeing of communities and inspire other institutions. The MTN Foundation will not end at this stage, because in the coming months, it is planning to carry out other projects to improve on access of the most disadvantaged to potable water” he promised.

            In addition to the potable water points, MTN Foundation has been investing in Cameroon for the welfare of the population in the domain of Education, Health and Rural Development since 2005.

            MTN Foundation is the very first corporate foundation created in Cameroon with MTN Cameroon investing therein, each year, 1% of its turnover. The Foundation works for the welfare of communities in Cameroon by investing in Education, Health, the Environment and Community Development .