• PUMA, Manchester City’s global charity initiative, Cityzens Giving, and Official Water Technology Partner, Xylem, join forces to use the power of football to help tackle water challenges in Mumbai as part of the global safe water initiative.
• Manchester City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips and the Premier League Trophy pay a special visit to young leaders and participants from the Mumbai project.
• Xylem clean water filtration tower installed at Mumbai school in July 2021 provides clean drinking water to up to 1,800 people every day.

India: Shaun Wright-Phillips and the Premier League Trophy paid a special visit on Wednesday to Rana Pratap School in Mumbai to meet local Cityzens Giving young leaders who are using the power of football to educate children on the importance of clean drinking water and safe handwashing practices.

In Mumbai, many communities face issues around basic hygiene and water pollution. Poor personal hygiene and awareness affect children with water-borne diseases, leading to absenteeism from school.

As well as using the unique power of football to engage children with key hygiene messages, the project has benefitted from the expertise of leading global water technology company, Xylem, and their local partner Planet Water Foundation, through the installation of a water filtration tower at Rana Pratap School which provides clean drinking water for up to 1,800 people per day.

Wright-Phillips took part in football-based water education games, engaged in a Q&A with young leaders and children, and spent time learning about the project and its positive impact on this school and community.

Reflecting on his experience, Wright-Phillips said: “It was a humbling experience to meet young leaders who are dedicated to solving water challenges in their community. Football is a powerful tool to engage and educate young people and combined with the clean water tower, the impact is life-changing.

 

Varsha, a young leader with Magic Bus India Foundation in Mumbai, said: “I am very happy with the impact we are having with this project. These children now have access to clean water and vital knowledge on water, sanitation and hygiene which can help them make changes to have a better life. Having the chance today to meet Shaun Wright-Phillips and see the Premier League Trophy was amazing and motivational for me to keep making a positive difference.”

 

Dhanashri Brahme, Chief of Programmes at Magic Bus India Foundation added: “At Magic Bus, we equip young people with essential life skills that map out a pathway for them to deal with various destabilisers in their own lives and in their community. In this programme, we dealt with water problems in the community, whereby young people underwent training and participated in sessions around water, sanitation, and hygiene. These are key skills that enable young people to break out of poverty to lead fulfilling, rewarding lives and contribute positively to their communities.”

The project Wright-Phillips visited stems from Man City’s water-inspired PUMA away kit this season which celebrates football as a force for good.

Produced with a special Dope Dye manufacturing process to reduce water consumption, the kit pays tribute to a unique partnership between PUMA, Cityzens Giving, and Xylem, supporting a global network of football and safe water programmes, aiming to reach 10,000 children across three continents.

“Xylem’s business and mission are the same – solving big water challenges for communities around the world. The water filtration tower at the Rana Pratap school in Mumbai is already transforming water access for the community, and that’s been made possible with the close collaboration of Planet Water and our colleagues on the ground,” said Austin Alexander, Vice President, Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem. “But you need more than technology. You also need the education to help communities become water-secure. In our partnership with Manchester City Football Club, we educate students on the importance of hygiene and clean water from a young age – creating that long-term ripple effect for the community.”

 

Matthias Baeumer, General Manager BU Teamsport at PUMA said: “We’re very proud of this unique collaboration as part of Manchester City’s away kit, which uses a special Dope Dye manufacturing process to drastically reduce the amount of water and dye used for production. The initiative has already made a real impact on people’s lives across the globe and it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to be part of this latest activity bringing Shaun Wright-Phillips and the Premier League Trophy to Mumbai to raise awareness of the inspiring work of young leaders are doing in the local community.”

During the visit to India, Wright-Phillips and the Premier League Trophy also visited Cityzens Giving’s football and safe water project in Bangalore, supported by Xylem, which since January 2019 has positively impacted over 12,000 young people.

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone on to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, seven League Championship titles, including five Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 11 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs. Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

Cityzens Giving is an award-winning programme, supporting youth-led community football projects across the globe together with its fans, staff and partners. Projects are run by young people for people with support and administrative oversight from vetted registered charity partners across the globe. In addition to long-term grant funding, young leaders access training in community football and leadership from the Club community coaches and networking opportunities with other projects worldwide. This includes face-to-face training in country (when conditions permit), remote support, and regular global forums and summits to support the exchange of know-how and learning. Since the launch of Cityzens Giving in 2014, over 2,000 Young Leaders have been trained with over 25,000 young people across 25 cities now participating in the projects, which use football to tackle a range of pressing social issues from health and wellbeing and educational attainment to social inclusion and employability to name a few.

From 3000 children in 1999 in Mumbai, Magic Bus has transformed the lives of over one million children and young people living in poverty, taking them from a childhood full of challenges to a life with meaningful livelihoods. Magic Bus is one of the largest poverty alleviation programmes in India, impacting 4,00,000 children in 24 states and 75 districts. We deliver sessions in close to 2342 schools and 240 community learning centres. Since the Livelihood programme began in 2015, we have over 80 livelihood skilling centres and 8 entrepreneurship incubation centres. Through the Livelihood programme, more than 1 lakh young men and women have been impacted so far. Magic Bus is present in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar and is reaching out to more than 8000 children. We have networking and fundraising offices in the US, UK, Singapore, and Germany.

Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges with innovation. Its 17,000 diverse employees delivered revenue of $5.2 billion in 2021. It is helping communities in more than 150 countries become water-secure.

PUMA is one of the world’s leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories. For more than 70 years, PUMA has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world’s fastest athletes. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sports influences into street culture and fashion. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 16,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

© Smart Water & Waste World. Send us your editorial contributions at mayur@smartwww.in