Water Is Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing an accessible clean water solution to the poorest and neediest nations, announces a global initiative to provide millions of people (specifically children) instant access to safe, clean water – through the ease of an oversized drinking straw.
The Water Is Life Straws filter disease-infested water on the go, providing those who wear it around their neck the most basic need in life -- clean water. The device is a multiple-stage filtering process. The first stage removes particles as small as 15 microns. The water then passes through a chamber filled with iodine crystals, killing bacteria and viruses. In the final phase, a fine charcoal filter removes the water of its bad taste providing clean, clear water. Despite utilizing state-of-the-art technology to filter the water, the Straw cost is only $10 per unit and provides clean water for an entire year. For the same cost of a latte and a scone on any given morning, this breakthrough tool will give someone the gift of life for a whole year.
Ken Surritte, the founder of Water Is Life says, "Part of what keeps me awake at night is that 5,000 people will die today if they don't have clean water. I have a solution, now we just need to get it in the right hands. It would be amazing to see entire villages wearing the Straw around their necks, knowing they feel secure that access to clean, drinkable water is just a simple sip away."
The Water Is Life team will deliver 20,000 straws to Kenya in March of 2010. The organization chose to focus on Kenya because every third person in Kenya is HIV positive. Since their immune systems are already compromised, the smallest amount of contamination can be a death sentence. The Water Is Life Straw can help deter disease and hopefully give those affected by HIV, or other life-threatening diseases, a chance to live a longer, fuller life, which can positively transform communities.
Today 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and 1.8 million people will die this year due to preventable waterborne diseases – Typhoid, Cholera, Dysentery and Diarrhea. Children - the weakest members of villages - are the most vulnerable. Water Is Life hopes for a day when this simple filter, which can be worn like a necklace, filters three liters of drinking water a day for a whole year and kills 99.9 percent of all bacteria and viruses – will change the world.
Recently Water Is Life distributed water straws in Maisha Village in Kenya. Mama Grace, a community leader, reported, "The straws have reduced the children's illness, and they continue to carry them throughout the day, the challenge though still remains…we need more!"
Water Is Life has distributed personal filters in South America, United Arab Emirates, Sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and China - and the world needs more. One straw. One Life. For more information, visit www.WaterIsLife.com.
SOURCE: Water Is Life