From Waves To Watersheds: A New Chapter Begins
On August 30th, our incredible Ambassadors, the Maclean Brothers, completed their world-record-breaking Pacific Row and soon after, through the generosity of thousands of people, surpassed their £1 million fundraising goal in support of our clean water work.
Already, our team has completed the first three boreholes funded by their journey in Andranambomaro, Analabe and Lempoka, bringing clean water to around 1,000 people. And a fourth is being built as we speak.
Made possible by The Maclean Foundation’s remarkable commitment and our decades of experience, this marks the exciting beginning of a pioneering three-year project that will reach far beyond clean water.
We’re building on years of community collaboration to bring an integrated approach to life, that connects clean water to forest and watershed regeneration, stronger livelihoods, better health and food security, education and climate resilience.
This work is taking place in Ambohimahamasina, one of our longest-standing partner communes and home to around 40,000 people. Once completed, Ambohimahamasina could become the first commune in Madagascar with 100% access to safe water, a milestone of national significance, especially now, after recent protests highlighted just how scarce reliable access to clean water still is across the country.
Our planning began long before the row started, and over the past weeks our teams have continued working with local authorities and community members to plan the next drilling phase, carry out further site visits, organise the delivery of materials, and talk about how to best care for the main watersheds, so that the clean water will keep flowing for generations to come.
For each and every borehole we build, we now plant 1,000 trees around the watershed through our TreeMad programme to protect and regenerate the water cycle.
The row may be complete, but its ripple effect is only just beginning.
We look forward to sharing more with you as this project unfolds and weaves into our wider work and we can’t wait to welcome the brothers back to Madagascar next year to see the impact their incredible effort has set in motion.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Maclean Brothers’ Pacific row in one way or another. You are all part of something truly special unfolding in Madagascar now, and for years to come.
If you would like to support the Maclean brothers’ fundraiser you can do so here.
