First Rate believes in conducting business in a sustainable way, which generates profit for shareholders and stakeholders while protecting the environment and supporting the communities within which we operate. As a company that supports travel and tourism they wanted to make a difference to these children who live in some of the countries that our customers visit.

First Rate have now supported eight Just a Drop projects and their latest two projects have been in Zambia and Kenya. In Zambia, the community of 200 people in Mukwemba, have gained access to clean and safe water through a borehole and hand pump. Previously, the water they used was filthy and a considerable distance away, so this project has had a massive impact on their lives.

In Kenya, First Rate have supported Ngangani Primary School to gain access to safe water and improve hygiene through WASH training.

Previously, the school had a 10,000 litre plastic rainwater harvesting tank which providing enough water for the school for a limited amount of time. When this water would run out, the school was left to find alternative sources which were not clean or safe. Pupils were collecting water from nearby rivers and bringing it to school. The other option was collecting water from an earth dam 2km away which was prone is causing diseases such as brucellosis, typhoid, bilharzia, cholera, among others.​

In order to improve the water situation for the 212 pupils, 11 teachers and 2 support staff, a big rainwater harvesting tank was constructed at the school. Construction began in February 2019 and the new tank can store up to 104,000 litres of water, providing enough for the school needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning all year round. The tank has also been painted with hygiene messages to reinforce the WASH education that took place. ​

"The training was very good, we have learnt a lot on hygiene and sanitation. The knowledge we learnt today will help us to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation within the school as well as back at home. It will also help us prevent diseases. We have also learnt how to make liquid soap. The soap will help us to improve hygiene and sanitation within our school. We will also train our parents on how to make soap”​ - Munyithya ​