Numi Organic Tea announces Together for H2OPE: Ukraine
Image: Waves for Water
Numi Foundation, in partnership with Waves for Water and MPOWERD, is raising $1M to provide clean, safe drinking water, as well as lights and charging devices to up to 550,000 displaced Ukrainians suffering from the devastation of the Russian invasion.
Numi Organic Tea, a founding B Corporation member, and a leading purchaser of organic, Fair Trade Certified teas, has announced Together for H2OPE: Ukraine. The latest and most urgent activation of Numi’s clean water initiative, Together for H2OPE: Ukraine, in partnership with Waves for Water and MPOWERD, is raising up to $1 million to provide clean, safe drinking water, as well as lights and charging devices to up to 550,000 displaced Ukrainians suffering from the devastation of the Russian invasion. Despite the recent $40 billion aid package signed by the President in May, millions of Ukrainians are falling through the cracks and are in desperate need of clean water and life-saving supplies. To contribute to Together for H2OPE: Ukraine, go to .
Since 2016, Numi’s Together for H2OPE initiative has invested in infrastructure projects in Numi farming communities around the world by building wells and sanitation facilities, as well as distributing water filtration systems to over 10,000 farmers and their families across India, Madagascar, and South Africa. In Ukraine, Together for H2OPE has partnered with Waves for Water to distribute 22,000 water filters, which have the potential to provide 1 million gallons of clean water each — enough for 20 years for a family of 5. Waves for Water’s Clean Water Corps — a specialized clean water task force operated entirely by military veterans — will provide all on-the-ground support while contributing their invaluable experience in fluid, dangerous environments.
Thanks to MPOWERD’s partnership, Ukrainian families will also have the ability to charge their mobile devices to stay connected with loved ones and essential services, via solar-powered lights and portable charging units. These rechargeable devices will be utilized during conflict and thereafter through the inevitable rebuilding period. Over the last 10 years, MPOWERD has partnered with over 700 NGOs to impact more than 3.8 million lives in 90+ countries and averted over 2.5 million tons of CO2.
For the last 12 years, Waves for Water has distributed its simple, effective and reliable water filters across the globe, ensuring clean water access to 4 million people in more than 40 countries. With a focus on areas ravaged by war and natural disasters, including Haiti, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Waves for Water builds local networks with community leaders and partners to ensure trust, efficiency, and sustainability. Its Clean Water Corps, composed of 40 military veterans, combines Waves for Water’s no-nonsense guerrilla humanitarianism mindset with the time-tested structural qualities of the military — organization, discipline, strategy, planning, and more — to solve the global water crisis.
“We have moved swiftly to meet the immediate humanitarian crisis in Ukraine,” said Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Numi Foundation’s Executive Director. “The situation is dire for the 7.1 million Ukrainians who have been internally displaced by the Russian invasion. With municipal infrastructure destroyed, they are forced to collect water from dirty puddles and streams. Thanks to our partnership with Waves for Water and MPOWERD, Together for H2OPE: Ukraine has the opportunity to provide 550,000 desperate Ukrainians with access to the clean water, light, and power that will sustain them through the invasion, while supporting long-term health as the nation rebuilds.”
To date, Waves for Water has already implemented a pilot program, funded by Numi Foundation, that has benefitted over 15,000 Ukrainians.
“Ukraine has been the most challenging project we have done to date. The work our veteran teams have put in to develop the necessary networks and reach displaced and isolated people in contested areas has been nothing short of incredible. With the amount of focus on refugees and combatants, we are proud of the work our teams and partners in Ukraine have done to reach the areas and people other organizations cannot serve. The utter devastation that has been delivered on the Ukrainian people has created a humanitarian crisis that will last well past the end of this conflict. We cannot wait to help those that need it now,” said Rob McQueen, Waves For Water’s field operations director.
“Much needed funding has been provided towards lethal aid. What we are all collectively trying to do, in parallel, is provide necessary and timely humanitarian aid to those internally displaced people inside Ukraine,” states John Salzinger, MPOWERD’s founder.
Together for H2OPE: Ukraine would not be possible without local partner Emad “Gianni” Ballack. founder of ZiBox e-commerce and a restaurant owner and entrepreneur in Kyiv, Gianni has become a driving force for humanitarian aid within Ukraine, establishing a delivery network that utilizes the same passenger vans used for transporting refugees out of the country. Gianni’s intimate knowledge of the country and personal relationships with the highest ranks in the Ukrainian government and mayors of most major cities enables him to enter wartorn areas to hand-deliver water filters, lights and power to those with the greatest need. Additionally, the program is made possible thanks to collaboration with the national governments in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Moldova, plus a network of other Ukrainian partners and mayors across major cities.
Go to Wavesforwater.org/ukraine to donate to Together for H2OPE: Ukraine. All funds raised will go directly towards the distribution of water filtration systems, solar-powered lights, and charging devices to internally displaced Ukrainians.
Purchases of all Numi products help fund all Together for H2OPE programs. Numi premium organic teas are available for purchase nationwide at various retail locations in addition to many natural product stores and online at Numitea.com and Amazon.