Water First

Speaker: John Millar, Founder & Executive Director of Water First , a leading charitable organization working with Indigenous communities to resolve local water challenges

Organizaton: We believe that the water crisis in Indigenous communities is intolerable. Education and skills training is essential in creating solutions that work for communities. Our programs are acknowledging history and repairing past wrongs through building strong partnerships and creating lasting results in collaboration with Indigenous communities.

Message from Cody Avery, Director, Development at Water First:

I wanted to share some exciting news for the Water First Internship and safe drinking water in First Nations communities!

Our current Internship with Bimose Tribal Council in northwestern Ontario has been fully extended by the federal government. This means we are able to run a full-length program. We will continue to support our 13 local interns from 11 First Nations communities to become certified water plant operators. And we are now able to recruit 5-6 additional interns to join the cohort as soon as possible!

Thank you! When we received the confirmation, I wanted to reach out to the ones who have so passionately supported the program.

It’s because of your support and investment in our work that we have reached this point today. With your support, we’ve been able to build the Drinking Water Program and keep the momentum going. (Mahendra, a member of the Indigenous Committee, has requested and received approval by the RCO Board to sponsor an indigenous student for this training program.)

It has been a clear priority to continue this essential program during the communities’ response to COVID-19. The provision of clean and safe drinking water is a critical service. Your commitment to the Drinking Water Internship plays an important role in increasing water science capacities in First Nations communities. Now and for the future. Thank you again!