A new Milestone: Over 5,000 Jerrycans Sold in April

On March 19th of 2022, Terre des Sourires officially opened the very first community water kiosk in the Ban Nahom region, located in the Beng district of the Oudomxay province. Just 6 months later, this kiosk has already accomplished one of the fundamental objectives of our social entrepreneurship model – achieving self-sustainability! 

Thanks to our dedicated local team, this project is now financially independent, and covers the entirety of the costs associated with the water kiosk (excluding the overall operating expenses of our team based in Oudomxay and Switzerland). This success is clear evidence that the concept of social entrepreneurship can indeed be a resounding success. But the good news doesn’t end there. This April of 2023, we have reached a major milestone by selling over 5,000 jerrycans in only one month! Just imagine the smiles on the faces of the 5,036 residents in the 13 surrounding villages that now have access to TdS’s kiosk. 

To put this into perspective, over 83% of the local population only drinks water from the Terre des Sourires community water kiosk. People have swiftly and smoothly adopted new habits, regularly consuming pure and filtered water that meets the standards of the World Health Organization. This is a tremendous success for us! The happiness of the villagers is tangible. They’ve shared with us the remarkable improvements in their daily lives; a direct outcome of the tireless efforts of our local team and the services provided by our kiosk. We are thus delighted to present you with a sales chart that shows the steady progress: 

We will continue to uplift the lives of those who have long been neglected due to their geographical isolation and low income, and who previously had limited means to develop. We will persist in our efforts with love and passion, creating positive changes in the lives of rural Laotian communities and empowering them to harness their potential.

Today, more than ever, your support and financial assistance are crucial to achieving our goal of becoming self-financed and ensuring the long-term success of our projects. As mentioned previously, we have already reached a significant milestone in our project: the self-financing of the first water kiosk, covering all the expenses of the infrastructure and providing stable employment for the villagers fully managing its operation. Our economic model demonstrates that we can achieve our goals, and by the end of 2028, Terre des Sourires could no longer be economically dependent on public or private funds, thanks to the invaluable support of our donors and potential financiers. Your unwavering support is essential to our success. We thank you for following and supporting us in this journey of providing access to safe drinking water for all !