Project Maa: the power of clean water

Project

Maringkik is home to a vibrant community of shark fishermen and their families. Project Hiu, an organisation dedicated to marine conservation, works closely with the fishermen to provide an alternative income to the community, working collaboratively to promote shark conservation. 

The Island had no clean water source and were importing bottled water to the Island. Project Hiu knew that if they wanted to create an alternative pathway to shark fishing, education was key,and saw that students on the Island were not going to school if they could not afford bottled water.

Project Hiu, the Reece Foundation and seven trade volunteers worked together to provide the community with access to a sustainable and safe water source – Project Maa, meaning ‘water’ in Bahasa. 

Outcomes

Project Maa had a ripple effect across the Maringkik community, supporting health outcomes for school staff; providing further employment opportunities for Project Hiu crew during the construction phase; and expanding Project Hiu’s reach on Maringkik through this island-wide project.

3000 community members gained access to clean drinking water. 

Project highlights included: 

·       A 21% increase in students access to water when they needed it, and feeling safe when collecting water,

·       A 5% increase in physical health of students,

·       The largest improvement reported across school staff was feeling less worried, having a positive impact on their wellbeing;

·       Staff reported an improvement in school attendance and boost in energy levels of students.

Full findings of the impact of Project Maa, measured in collaboration with Huber Social, can be found here.

This project was made possible with the generous support of our partners: ⁠Reece Australia, BWT, the AQUA PEARLS Foundation and C.H Robinson