Fiona Jeffery OBE is the Founder and Chairman of Just a Drop – an international development charity, bringing safe water, hygiene and sanitation solutions to some of the world’s poorest communities.
Just a Drop was founded in 1998, shortly after Fiona learnt that a child dies every two minutes as a result of dirty water. In fact, dirty water kills more children under the age of five than measles, HIV and malaria combined. Having recently become a mother, it was an issue close to her heart, so, when Fiona found out that just £1 could provide safe water to a child, she felt she had to do something, and Just a Drop was born.
Landing at Reed Exhibitions in the mid-Eighties when WTM was in its infancy, Fiona rose through the ranks to become Chairman, helping to turn the annual event into the largest business-to-business travel event in the world. She recognised that in using the world as its livelihood – by sending people on holiday – the travel industry was perfectly placed to give something back, and World Travel Market (WTM) became the place that Just a Drop was born.
Fiona combined her role at WTM with guiding Just a Drop through its early years when the organisation was run solely by dedicated volunteers. She managed to convince industry players to donate millions over the years to Just a Drop and many of those supporters still play a huge part in supporting the charity today.
Since then, Just a Drop has grown considerably. More than 1.5 million people across 32 countries now have access to safe water and sanitation. Through the development of a holistic approach, involving broader programmes of work such as food security, micro-finance and menstrual hygiene management, Just a Drop supports 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals, including water and sanitation, quality education, gender equality, no hunger and climate action, which further supports communities, helps lift them out of poverty and creates brighter futures.
Fiona continues to volunteer her time for Just a Drop as an effective and dedicated Chair, alongside many other roles, including sitting on the UN World Committee for Tourism Ethics, Chair of the Africa Travel & Tourism Association (Atta) as well as being a Senior Partner in PR firm Finn Partners’ Global Responsible Tourism PR Consultancy. Until recently, she was also Chair of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). In 2012, she was awarded an OBE for services to Travel and Tourism.
Fiona maintains a synergy across all of her roles; Just a Drop operates in Africa, Asia and Latin America and WTTC’s Tourism for Tomorrow Awards champion the best of the best in sustainable tourism practices around the world, sharing many of the principles on which WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day was founded.
‘World Responsible Tourism Day remains a strong pillar of World Travel Market, and in terms of legacies is the one currently of which I am most proud – due to its commitment to ensuring our industry acts responsibly, sustainably and protects the planet for future generations,’ Fiona says.
Visit Just a Drop’s stand to find out more about Fiona, Just a Drop and how you can get involved. The organisation will be selling reusable, sustainable water bottles on so head over to buy yours and in turn make a contribution to their work. Free water refill stations will be available across the exhibition.
Stand: BL2
PR Contact: Carenza Arnold & Alice Mellar
Email: Carenza.Arnold@justadrop.org & alice.mellar@justadrop.org
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8910 7981