Just a Drop will celebrate its 20^thanniversary and having reached 1.5 million people with safe water and sanitation at World Travel Market 2018 – the event where the charity was launched in November 1998 by Fiona Jeffery OBE, former WTM Chairman.

To mark the occasion, Just a Drop has partnered with Water-to-Go to create Just a Drop-branded eco-friendly water bottles, which provide a solution to two of the biggest problems facing the world at the moment: access to clean, safe drinking water and the pollution caused by single-use plastics.

Containing a filtration system that eliminates over 99.9% of contaminants, the water bottles will be sold exclusively on Just a Drop’s stand at WTM (BL4 on the Main Boulevard, by N4/S4) for the special anniversary price of just £5, ahead of launching online via Water-to-Go’s website. All profits will support Just a Drop’s safe water projects. Free water refills will be available throughout WTM from water stations located around the fair, including at Affordable Car Hire, Air Europa, Atta – African Travel & Tourism Association, Discover the Palm Beaches, and Just a Drop’s stands.

Anniversary celebrations will take place on Just a Drop’s stand throughout WTM. A raffle will be held with prizes including a three-course meal with champagne for two at The Ritz, London, donated by Travelzoo.

Fiona Jeffery OBE, Founder and Chairman of Just a Drop, said: ‘I’m delighted to be celebrating Just a Drop’s 20^th anniversary here at WTM, where it all began. Over the past 20 years Just a Drop has grown from a volunteer organisation providing emergency relief in the wake of natural disasters to a professional NGO working with local communities to deliver comprehensive safe water, sanitation and hygiene programmes that create sustainable, long-term change and empower people to lift themselves out of poverty. Just a Drop has now reached 1.5 million people with safe water and sanitation across 32 countries. This is an achievement I did not foresee when I launched the charity in 1998, and it has been made possible largely thanks to the travel industry’s generous and dedicated support – thank you.’

On World Responsible Tourism Day, Wednesday 7^th November, Just a Drop will host ‘The Changemakers: How Inspiration has Created Life Transforming Reality’. Speakers Holly Budge, Founder of How Many Elephants, Fiona Jeffery OBE, Founder of Just a Drop, Paras Loomba, Founder of Global Himalayan Expedition, and Ben Morison, Founder of The Flipflopi Project, will discuss how they realized their ideas and created organisations that are changing the world we live in for the better. The talk will be moderated by Anita Mendiratta and will take place from 2-3 pm in the Middle East & Africa Inspiration Zone – AF190.

Just a Drop was founded at WTM in 1998 by Fiona Jeffery OBE, as a way of encouraging the travel industry to give back to communities around the world. Fiona chose the cause because water is the most basic of human needs, and she felt that if everyone was encouraged to give a little, then collectively a huge difference could be made.

Just a Drop’s first ever project began in Ethiopia in 1998 and much of the charity’s work during its first ten years involved disaster relief efforts, in partnership with organisations such as the British Red Cross and the Scientific Exploration Society.  By 2008, Just a Drop’s work had contributed to the number of people without safe water dropping to below 1 billion globally, and the charity grew from a volunteer organisation to a professional NGO. The following ten years up to 2018 have seen Just a Drop develop into a community development organisation that today has reached over 1.5 million people across 32 countries with much needed safe water, sanitation and hygiene.