FOREFRONT Charity (India)
The FOREFRONT Charity empowers people, creates leaders and establishes self-sustaining communities. Since launching in 2015, FOREFRONT has listened to local needs in rural India through 16 community forums, each with hundreds of attendees.
They learned that people spent about eight hours a day getting water from contaminated sources. The water would often make them sick and unable to attend school or work. In response, they worked with community members to build 45 clean water wells, bringing clean water to over 73,000 people.
In 2021/2022, the Eurofins Foundation supported a project entitled ‘Innovative, Scalable & Modular Water Treatment Plant for Rural, Underdeveloped Communities.’
The FOREFRONT Charity developed a transportable, scalable, and sustainable water treatment technology called the SN300 (Sangam Neeru, which means community water). The SN300 provides clean drinking water to rural communities in India and creates awareness of the importance of clean drinking water for the well-being of communities.
The core features of the SN300 are its usage of locally sourced and cost-friendly materials, minimal use of electricity, and its simple operation and maintenance, making this design suitable for the remote communities the organisation serves.
As a result of the Eurofins Foundation’s grant, FOREFRONT Charity launched the SN300 first as a pilot unit in the Suddapalli village located in rural Andhra Pradesh, India, as a continuation of an existing relationship with the community. FOREFRONT Charity collected water quality data and feedback on the SN300’s functionality from the Suddapalli community, and used the lessons learned from the pilot to improve the SN300’s design, manuals, implementation, and community outreach.
Since the SN300 pilot was successful, FOREFRONT Charity will rapidly scale up the implementation to more villages in rural India. The resources and implementation offered with the SN300 will be suited specifically to the needs of each local community, as FOREFRONT Charity conduct preliminary assessments and community outreach. When implemented in remote rural areas, the SN300 provides a valuable sustainable alternative to borewell water.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation renews its support to FOREFRONT Charity, specifically to the project STEM Education for Children in Rural India. Through a highly interactive curriculum, FOREFRONT School encourages critical thinking, leadership, collaboration, and life-long learning. Many of the students are the first in their families to attend school, and the programme target girls’ enrollment through outreach and scholarships.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
