Simavi receives 1.5 million from Dutch Postcode Lottery for Water Justice Fund
'We are very happy that the Dutch Postcode Loterij, like us, believes in the innovative approach of the Water Justice Fund that we launched last year together with Women Win during the UN Water Conference in New York,' says Veerle Ver Loren van Themaat, director of fundraising at Simavi.
The Water Justice Fund (WJF) supports women and girls in Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal to take action and implement solutions that help achieve the right to water and sanitation. This is urgent: the impacts of climate change in the form of extreme weather events are increasingly threatening access to safe drinking water, especially among already vulnerable communities in countries in Asia and Africa. Some 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Fighting for climate justice
Ver Loren van Themaat: ‘Our ambition is to be active in 10 countries and to have the Water Justice Fund operate independently by 2030. What is unique about the Water Justice Fund is that we not only support women in their initiatives to cope with the impacts of climate change, but also in their fight for climate justice and access to climate finance.'
The reason for establishing the Water Justice Fund was that women and girls in particular face the effects of climate change on a daily basis. They are the ones who experience the problems and conflicts at the water pump. They are also the ones who see how things can be improved.
Women's climate adaptation solutions
Solutions for climate adaptation are currently being proposed mostly from the west, with little input from the local community and knowledge about the role of women. Climate finance for adaptation also barely reaches these women and lacks decision-making power. 'But these women are the experts, so we want to change that with the Water Justice Fund,' says Veerle Ver Loren van Themaat. 'With the support of the players of the Dutch Postcode Lottery, we can take action worldwide and the Water Justice Fund can reach more women and girls and increase its impact.' Since its founding, the Postcode Lotterij has donated 8 billion euros to people and nature. Simavi and many other organisations receive support each year.
