Companies devoted to African Relief

Once a month, I will highlight companies that devote profits in an effort to combat African crises or promote awareness of these issues in an effort to mobilize the public.

Tumai Water: Tumai Water first hit the shelves in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in March 2008 with two stores. Now, Tumai Water is sold in 400 locations and is working on their third well system in South Africa. It was started by the Spero Group in an alliance with Tumai.org, our own organization, to raise awareness for poverty related issues in Sub-Sahara and raise money for Tumai.org's projects. The brand has shown success in both areas wherever it has been sold but a lack of startup funding has plagued Spero Group since the inception of the brand. Bill Walters, Director of Sales and Marketing speaking from his 18 years of experience in the beverage arena stated,
"I have never seen a brand start a buzz without intense marketing like this brand has. If Spero can raise the capital, this will be a national brand, widespread knowledge of world issues will be achieved, and many lives will be saved. But more than that, a model for business involvement in non-profit issues will be proven a success and, I hope, cause a fundamental change in the way business is done."

The core of Tumai Water's founders is their passion to create sustainable development in Africa, starting in South Africa. Wikipedia.org defines sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

A good example of this I witnessed in Emthonjeni near Johannesburg, South Africa this past April. Terxia Chegwidden, who runs the Haven Care Centers, showed me a man that had no living and no prospects. We met him driving his horse and wagon as he tended his crop of corn. This man learned to farm, is feeding his family, and earning a living - sustainable development. Emthonjeni is a model for sustainability as many changes have occurred over the past couple of years that are transforming this community.

To date, Tumai Water has only raised a little over $2000 for sustainability projects in South Africa with the expectation to multiply this many times over the next year. The brand won a bronze award for Ethical Initiatives from Water Innovation at the 2008 Bottled Water Congress in Wiesbaden, Germany. Nayl DeSouza, then editor of Water Innovation stated that he and "the entire staff was tremendously excited about Tumai's win. He went on to say that the story of the brand is incredibly strong and the passion the founders have for Africa is obvious and genuine."

Tumai Water is still looking for ways to raise capital to strengthen and expand the brand. When asked about this, Mr. Walter said that 3000 locations right this minute would like to pick up the brand but without the resources to support it, it cannot be done; not yet. Still, even with the small footprint in the bottled water industry, Spero Group has made a lasting impression and accomplished a great deal for thousands of people already. Even if the brand never expands, the company and its founders will continue to strive to eliminate the issues that stem from poverty in Africa.

Although tumai.org is part of the Tumai Water story, ANY company that legitimately has a passion for a cause should be commended. we hope that products that support causes will become more popular and become the model that the consumer will choose more in the future.
Anyone wishing to contact Tumai Water may do so at 304-264-1466, email at info@tumaiwater.com or through their website www.tumaiwater.com