THE CLEAN WATER PROJECT - A PERMANENT SOLUTION

"Waterborne illness kills a child every 15 seconds.........." UNICEF

Recently Rotary International was presented with the UN Association's Humanitarian Award for their "significant commitment and efforts to provide safe water and sanitation to sustainable developments world wide". A great honour indeed, and one all Rotarians can be justly proud of.

However, receiving this award does not mean the project is completed, because there are still many areas in the world that are still badly in need of access to safe drinking water. Emphasising this, Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF said, "Waterborne illness kills a child every 15 seconds and underlies much of the world's disease and malnutrition".  So the work must continue. 

One such country badly affected is Thailand, because here piped and well water is not safe to drink without first being fully filtered. Whereas for example all ex-pats only drink, or use for cooking, pure bottled water, no school can afford to buy this in the quantities needed - very few Thais drink heated or boiled beverages such as tea and coffee etc, but consume a lot of water straight from a tap.

As piped water is only normally available in dense residential areas the majority of schools, especially those in villages etc, rely on well water obtained by pump from a bore hole in their grounds. Because of lack of funds children drink this water without any purifying treatment whatsoever. 

In conjunction with other Rotary Clubs and supporters we have already installed filters in 23 schools, with a further eight about to be started. But there are still many who need our help. Will you join us in our effort to save lives? 

The bonus to making safe drinking water available in schools is that we are also helping many families, as pupils are allowed to take water for home use.