Every April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day. For many organizations, it is a moment to post a green graphic and move on. At MACONA, Earth Day is a checkpoint — a chance to measure whether our operations are actually reducing harm to the planet while serving the communities that depend on it most.
The communities MACONA serves in West Africa are among the most climate-vulnerable on the planet. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and contaminated water sources are not hypothetical risks. They are daily realities for families in Bamako, Mali, and across the Sahel region. When we ship supplies, we are not just addressing poverty — we are addressing the consequences of environmental degradation that those communities did not cause.
Clean Water Is an Environmental Act
MACONA’s hydration hubs — portable water filtration stations deployed at every partner school — are both a health intervention and an environmental one.
Before a hydration hub arrives, a school of 200 students relies on single-use plastic sachets of water. Each student uses 2–3 sachets per day. That is 400–600 plastic sachets going into the ground every single school day. Over a year, one school generates more than 100,000 pieces of plastic waste — in communities with no recycling infrastructure.
One hydration hub eliminates all of it. Gravity-fed filtration. Reusable cups. No electricity, no plastic, no waste.
How Your Donation Protects the Earth
Every dollar to MACONA does double duty. It serves a child and it reduces environmental harm. Here is what specific amounts deliver:
- $25 — provides reusable water bottles for one classroom, replacing 6,000 plastic sachets per year
- $50 — supplies water purification tablets for one school for a semester, keeping 15,000 sachets out of the ground
- $100 — deploys one hydration hub serving 200 students daily — zero plastic, zero electricity, zero waste
- $250 — funds hydration infrastructure for an entire school campus plus a community washing station
Sustainable Logistics
MACONA does not ship air. Every container that leaves the United States is packed to capacity. Clothing, school supplies, food, and water equipment travel together in consolidated shipments. This is not just cost efficiency — it is carbon efficiency. Fewer containers means fewer miles at sea, less fuel burned, and a smaller footprint per item delivered.
On the ground in Mali, deliveries are coordinated so that one vehicle visit covers an entire school — water, uniforms, food, and supplies in a single trip. Our local team schedules distribution days around community availability so that families do not make multiple trips to collect items. Less travel for families means less fuel, less time lost, and less strain on roads that are already fragile.
The Numbers
In the past year, MACONA’s operations have delivered measurable environmental impact alongside humanitarian results:
- Hydration hubs deployed: one at every partner school receiving deliveries
- Estimated plastic sachets avoided: 100,000+ per school per year
- Consolidated shipments: every container packed to capacity, reducing per-item shipping carbon
- Reusable cups distributed: color-coded by classroom to prevent sharing and eliminate disposables
- Items delivered in 2025: 1,000+ to 3 partner schools in Bamako, Mali
What Earth Day Means to Mimi Williams
I grew up in West Africa. The rivers I played in as a child are not the same rivers today. The rainy season comes later. The dry season lasts longer. Families that farmed for generations are watching their soil turn to dust.
When MACONA ships a hydration hub, we are not just giving a school clean water. We are telling those children that someone sees what is happening to their environment and refuses to make it worse. Every reusable cup that replaces a plastic sachet is a small act of respect for the earth that sustains them.
Earth Day is every delivery day at MACONA.
— Mariam “Mimi” Williams, Founder & CEO, MACONA
Donate Now — Double Your Impact Through Benevity
Double Your Earth Day Gift
If your employer uses Benevity for employee giving, your donation to MACONA can be matched by your company’s corporate giving program. That means a $100 hydration hub becomes two. A $250 campus deployment becomes two campuses.
Search for MIMI AFRICAN CHARITIES (EIN 93-3813688) in your company’s Benevity portal. Over 72 companies already have MACONA registered as a cause, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, NVIDIA, Intel, Salesforce, and dozens more.
Not sure if your company is on the list? Contact us and we will help you find out.