It is estimated that at least 5,000 children die each and every day due to dirty water. The United Nations Development Program, in its annual Human Development report, argues that 1.1 billion people do not have safe water. Those are devastating figures. In the areas of Northern and Central Tanzania where FFCC operates, safe, potable water is almost non-existent. In some cases even deep wells that were once safe have been contaminated. Many small communities drink, bathe, wash clothes, and water livestock all in the same water source.
Fortunately, even the dirtiest water can be purified and made drinkable with the right tools. In 2009, FFCC obtained a portable water purification unit from International Water Systems and used the unit to provide clean drinking water to the entire FFCC team of 32 who were in Tanzania for two weeks during June. The entire unit fits into the space of a small suitcase and uses a 12 volt battery to electrically convert water and ordinary table salt into a chlorine solution that can then be used to sterilize even the dirtiest water. The system worked flawlessly and allowed FFCC to operate without buying at least 64 liters of water each day to sustain the team.
Having personally witnessed the potential of the system, it is now FFCC’s plan to bring these systems and the training to use them into small communities in Tanzania. One system could potentially treat water for hundreds of people in a village.
How can you help? Our goal is to obtain ten of the systems by June of 2010 and begin taking them into remote villages that have no access to clean water. Each system costs us $500, so the total cost of ten purifications units will be $5,000. We are currently in the process of raising the funds to accomplish this, as well as planning the outreach strategy to effectively implement these systems amongst the villages of Central Tanzania.
If saving lives through water purification sounds like something you would be interested in joining us in, or if you would like to see the system in operation, please contact Andy Thweatt at athweatt@sksoil.com .
