Fans of Wacken Open Air donate deposit for a well in Ethiopia

Once again the visitors of the Wacken Open Air proved to be eager helpers and socially committed fans. For example, the DKMS (German bone marrow donor file) was able to announce the registration of now more than 10,000 potential marrow donors at this year’s festival and the initiative Laut gegen Krebs (“Loud against Cancer”) was pleased to report the full-hearted support of the headbangers again. The international network Viva con Agua de St. Pauli e.V., which is committed to safe access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation, also announced a great achievement:

With official permission from the Wacken Open Air, Viva con Agua successfully collected donations in the form of cups, which were exchanged for their deposit. The association was founded in 2006 in Hamburg, St. Pauli. Thanks to the generous donations of the metalheads, a total of 7,262 Euros was raised during this year’s campaign. The proceeds will now be used to finance a well as part of the water project in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. This project improves the living conditions of about 280,000 people and Viva con Aqua has already collected more than 600,000 Euro for this purpose.

Anna Elise Kuhn comments:
“The Wacken Open Air 2019 was great and we are very happy that the visitors donated so many pledge cups for clean drinking water”, the festival contact at Viva con Agua enthuses. “With the resulting 7,262 Euro we can fully finance a well in Ethiopia – including training for the local community. We have been made most welcome at the Wacken Open Air, where we have been able to collect 19,782 Euros through cup donations since 2015. We thank all Metalheads from the bottom of our hearts!“

Holger Hübner adds:
“It was a pleasure for us to welcome the team of Viva con Agua to our festival”, says the festival co-founder and organiser. “Of course, we are also proud of our fans again who donated their cups for this important purpose. A festival does not exist outside the impact of the big questions of our time, which also led to the foundation of the Wacken Future Factory this year. Although it is not possible to deal with every issue, we see the necessity to support such important iniitiatives as Viva con Agua’s at the Wacken Open Air“.

About Viva con Agua
Viva con Agua is an international network of people and organisations working for safe access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. The non-profit association Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli was founded in 2006. In the meantime, the vision “Water for All – All for Water” is supported by more than 15,000 volunteer supporters who collect donations for WASH projects (water, sanitation, hygiene) worldwide with numerous activities and just as much fun – including artists and musicians. Joined by international partner organisations, the movement has already reached around three million people in WASH projects. In addition to the Hamburgian association, the international network now includes the Viva con Agua Foundation and locally active Viva con Agua associations in Uganda, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In addition, the spin-off social business companies Viva con Agua Wasser GmbH, Viva con Agua ARTS GmbH, and Goldeimer GmbH support drinking water and sanitation projects. Read more: www.vivaconagua.org/