MILAN — On today’s occasion of World Water Day, Gucci and Chime for Change — the brand’s global campaign for gender equality — unveiled a partnership with Beyoncé and UNICEF USA to bring clean, safe water to Burundi.
Gucci committed $1 million to Beyoncé’s multiyear BeyGood4Burundi initiative launched last year with UNICEF USA to support programs improving water, sanitation and basic hygiene practices in the hardest-to-reach areas of the African country, where nearly half the population has no access to safe water.
Gucci’s investment will help support the construction of 80 wells, providing more than 120,000 women, girls and their families access to clean water. The wells will be in addition to the 35 already completed by the BeyGood4Burundi initiative, which is set to support 366,000 women and children by 2020.
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“Gucci and Chime for Change are proud to stand with Beyoncé and UNICEF to help change the lives of hundreds of thousands of girls and women in Burundi,” said Gucci’s president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri in a statement. “Through our commitment to BeyGood4Burundi, we continue the mission of Chime for Change to provide education, health and justice to girls and women globally.”
The fashion house has partnered with UNICEF since 2005, raising more than $21 million and reaching more than 7.5 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia through UNICEF programs.
Since Gucci cofounded Chime for Change with Salma Hayek Pinault and Beyoncé in 2013, the two organizations have worked closely on multiple projects to help girls and women around the world, including UNICEF’s Girls’ Empowerment Initiative, Hayek’s appeals to support Syrian refugees in 2015 and those affected by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Mexico in 2017, in addition to Beyoncé’s BeyGood4Burundi program.
To date, Chime for Change has raised $10 million to support 420 projects with 153 partners in 88 countries. Through these projects, the campaign’s support has directly benefited more than 400,000 girls and women, and reached nearly 3 million family and community members.