COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Atlas Copco will play a key role in bringing clean water to a rural area of Malawi through its employee-driven Water for All organization and the Peter Wallenberg Water for All Fund.

Starting in October, Water for All will finance installing infrastructure and facilities that support clean water, sanitation and hygiene in about a dozen villages and communities in the southeastern Africa nation. About 28,000 residents will benefit from the project once it’s complete in October 2018. Water for All is working with the nonprofit ADRA on the project, which is financed through donations to the Peter Wallenberg Water for All Fund, where Atlas Copco is one of the major contributors.

“Atlas Copco is delighted that the many contributions made to the Peter Wallenberg Water for All Fund will be turned into true life-changing benefits for thousands of people in Malawi,” said Ronnie Leten, Atlas Copco’s president and CEO.

Water for All chose the Malawi project since it had previous success in the area. The region is also where Peter Wallenberg Sr. was active while working for Atlas Copco in Africa. Wallenberg was Atlas Copco’s managing director for the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland — now Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi — starting in 1926, and he was chairman of Atlas Copco’s board of directors from 1974 to 1996. He worked at Atlas Copco for more than 61 years and passed away in January.

Atlas Copco’s main community engagement initiative is Water for All. Run by employees, the organization provides people in need with long-term access to clean drinking water. Through donations, boosted by the Atlas Copco Group, the nonprofit organization provided clean drinking water to more than 1.5 million people.

 Water for All programs sprung up in more than 40 countries with support projects all over the world. Atlas Copco employees founded it in Sweden 31 years ago, on Aug. 22, 1984. To learn more about Water for All and the Peter Wallenberg Water for All Fund, visit http://www.water4all.org/us/.