663 million people don’t have access to clean water – a vital resource that can mean the difference between life and death for many in sub-Saharan Africa.
World Vision provides a sustainable source of clean water by building wells in the villages where they are needed most. Wells mean women and children don’t have to travel up to 8 hours a day to fetch water at dangerous and often contaminated watering holes. Wells help children go to school, be healthy and realize a future they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
The task, with a budget of $30,000, was to increase donations to World Vision in order to build more wells and save lives with clean, essential water.
Our approach was to empower the children from Rwandan villages that had previously received a well from World Vision to help their less fortunate neighbours.
The idea of The Watercolour Project was to show the power of well water and how it can transform the future of a community. Children used actual well water to create watercolour paintings to be sold to fund the creation of more wells.
Using the water from newly built wells in their villages, children created watercolour art depicting their dreams and aspirations, then donated their paintings back to the cause.
We invited would-be donors to an art gallery event showcasing the children’s works.
In only 90 minutes, enough money was raised to build a new well ($17,500), transforming the lives of 3000 Rwandan families and completely revitalizing their village. Plus, four children were sponsored by donors the night of the event.
8.6 million impressions were generated through social media and the press. Traffic to WorldVision.ca increased 33% while donations made directly to World Vision Water Projects increased a significant 393% creating a virtuous circle by bringing more clean water to the people who depend upon it most for their survival.