AMCOW award winners - Feliciano dos Santos and David Kuria

First of all, if you haven't done so yet, please contact your Congressperson in the U.S. in support of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act! And thank you!

Secondly, congratulations to Feliciano dos Santos, David Kuria, and the other winners of awards given by AMCOW - the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW).

Here is what AMCOW has to say about Feliciano:

A musician and activist whose songs about using latrines and washing hands are positively influencing the hygiene practices of communities in Mozambique; a widow who has risen through her caste status to lead a campaign against open defecation in her village in Ethiopia; and a toilet entrepreneur whose innovative partnership with local authorities is changing the way public toilets in Kenyan towns are managed, are the top winners of this year’s AMCOW AfricaSan Awards.

Musician Feliciano dos Santos was announced winner of the Grassroots Champion Award for dedicating his life and his music to campaigning for better public health through clean water and adequate sanitation. Santos nd his Massukos Band have been using music to inspire thousands of villagers in rural Mozambique to curb spread of disease by adopting good hygiene practices, such as washing hands, boiling drinking water and building latrines.

And about David Kuria (http://www.ecotact.org/):

David Kuria won the Public Service Award for implementing a partnership model that is delivering safe, clean and affordable sanitation to the urban poor in Kenya. His company, Ecotact, is pioneering a private-public partnership approach with local authorities, and water and sewerage utilities to build public toilet malls in urban centres and informal settlements. By demonstrating the viability of sanitation as a business, David has been able to attract more than US$1.2 Million for the construction of 40 public toilet facilities in 12 municipalities in Kenya.