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NORMA Group enables access to clean water for Indian children

Maintal, Germany, 19 November 2015 – NORMA Group, a global market leader in engineered joining technology, supports the efficient and sustainable use of water as a resource with its many different products and systems. Together with the child aid organisation Plan International Germany, NORMA Group is hosting its development aid project “NORMA Clean Water”. The aim of the project is to improving the sanitary infrastructure and knowledge of hygiene in Indian schools. To recognize the United Nations’ (UN) World Toilet Day on 19 November, NORMA Group is taking stock of its commitment thus far.

The importance of the international World Toilet Day becomes clearer when we consider that approximately 2.4 billion people around the world lack access to sanitation facilities. A large number of these people live in India and are exposed to severe health risks due to poor hygiene and the sanitation situation. The poor hygiene conditions are partly to blame for the fact that in India on average 1,000 children die of diarrhea each day. NORMA Group is actively involved in combating this problem. “We see it as part of our corporate responsibility to work on site and help solve these types of social problems,” says Werner Deggim, CEO of NORMA Group. “This is why together with Plan International Germany we launched the NORMA Clean Water program near our manufacturing facility in Pune in October 2014,” he adds.

Through the NORMA Clean Water program, around 50 schools with approximately 15,000 girls, boys and teachers will benefit from an improved water supply and sanitation infrastructure within three years. Together with Plan International and local partners, building, structural and educational measures will be implemented at the schools that participate in the program. The awareness of the students and the careful use of the new sanitary and water systems will be institutionalized by establishing youth clubs at Indian schools.

Intensive communication with the various stakeholders and the inclusion of students, teachers, the school administration and the local administration in this project have proven to be success factors in the development of NORMA Clean Water. This was achieved with the help of local project partners who are making important contributions to the success of NORMA Clean Water. “We were able to contribute to the design of NORMA Clean Water with our experience in working on aid projects in India and networking locally. I find it remarkable that NORMA Group keeps itself up to date on this project by visiting it annually. This is proof of a great commitment and interest,” says Maike Röttger, Managing Director of Plan International Deutschland e.V.

After only a year, around 5,000 students from 16 schools now have access to a functioning water supply and intact sanitation facilities. Especially for many of the girls, the improved structural situation now makes it much easier for them to go to school. The students are also encouraged to share their knowledge of hygiene with their families in order to significantly reduce the sickness and death rate in the population caused by diarrheal diseases. Marion Mitchell, the project coordinator at NORMA Group, is quite satisfied with the current status of the program. “By taking a field trip in October 2015, we were able to gain a good impression of the progress that NORMA Clean Water is making. The support we are receiving from the school administration on construction work and the interest the children are showing in water and sanitation clearly show that we are on the right track.”

NORMA Group enables access to clean water for Indian children.pdf

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