Every Monday we profile a Dow Live Earth Run for Water partner organization that works toward providing solutions to the nearly 1 billion people who lack access to clean, safe water. To donate to one of these projects, visit liveearth.org/give.

Lien Aid is an international development NGO headquartered in Singapore. Its core mission is to build a firm foundation for human development by making safe water and sanitation accessible and affordable to poor communities in Asia. Founded in 2006 by the Lien Foundation and the Nanyang Technological University, Lien Aid's strength lies in delivering solutions using appropriate technology backed by knowledge transfer. Since its inception, Lien Aid has impacted over 200,000 lives in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam through various water treatment, sanitation and community development initiatives.

Lien Aid integrates water, sanitation and hygiene components in its projects, reaching out to villages, schools and hospitals. As an implementing NGO, its approach consists of assessing the local communities needs and exploring ways in which simple technologies can be integrated affordably and effectively to local conditions to ensure sustainable and rapidly scalable programs.

Funds from the Live Earth event will be channeled to Lien Aid's project in Cambodia, where it is currently working with 10 health centers to install rainwater harvesting units which will improve access to safe drinking water for 90,000 vulnerable patients. Th

e local staff and community members will receive training on the maintenance of the system to ensure sustainability of the project.

Affordable toilets for rural Cambodia
Lien Aid, in partnership with World Toilet Organization and IDE Cambodia, has developed an innovative and affordable toilet which is 40-60% cheaper than comparable systems currently available in the market. In rural Cambodia, cost is a key barrier to attaining proper sanitation. This project not only enables community members access to affordable latrines that they can be proud to acquire and maintain with their own resources, it also develops a viable sanitation marketplace by strengthening the supply chain through training local masons and community marketers to produce and promote the toilets.

Another one of Lien Aid’s success story is the “H2Ope Hospital” project in Vietnam.
Patients at the two National Cancer Hospitals as well as the National Hospital of Pediatrics benefited from improved water supply and sanitation facilities. This project not only provided a healthy environment for patients to recuperate, it also relieved low income families of the economic burden of having to spend their limited funds on safe drinking water for their sick family members. The need to buy their own drinking water; toilet facilities with no flushing system; no hand washing facilities are major problems faced by the patients. Lien Aid will upgrade the current water treatment plant, provide drinking water points, install water purification systems and provide improved sanitation facilities.

Lien Aid is bringing hope to rural schools in China with the Splash! Initiative, a project which aims to improve the hygiene, sanitation facilities and water supply in these schools. In the first phase of this project, more than 3,000 students and teachers in Sichuan Province can now enjoy a healthier learning environment With better health, school absenteeism and drop out rates will decrease. Teacher retention and therefore quality of teaching has also been found to be related to something as basic as having proper water and sanitation facilities. Finally, hygiene awareness programs will be conducted at these schools to encourage children to develop healthy habits from a young age.

Find out more about Lien Aid by clicking here and donate directly to a Lien Aid project using the widget below.