It is estimated that over three million people die each year
from water born diseases. But Larry Siegel, director of a local non-profit
organization called Safe Water
International, is determined to change that.
Recently, Siegel embarked on his fifth trip to Malawi, a
small country in Southeast Africa, to bring drinking water solutions to 4,000
villagers whose water sources are tainted with contaminants. The project will
begin in June to provide safe drinking water to eight remote villages in the
center of the country. Malawi is considered one of the poorest countries in the
world, with an average daily income of $1 per person.
Funding and in-country support for this effort, as well as a
similar project that provided clean drinking water to AIDS patients in Malawi
through rainwater collection and water sand filters, comes from the Carpinteria Rotary Club based in
Carpinteria, CA. Additional support is provided by other local Rotary clubs and
the Rotary Foundation, which helps fund seven hundred drinking water projects
throughout the world each year.
“With the experience we have gathered over the past two
years,” says Siegel, “we believe we can provide clean drinking water to a remote
Malawi village at a cost of $20 a day per family.” Each village that
participates in the Rotary project must pledge labor, materials, and some
funding to help with the cost of the program. Siegel believes that, within a
year, the current project will provide water for up to eight villages in Malawi.
As
he continues to seek support and funding for multiple clean water projects
throughout the world, Siegel will steadily move on to other villages and
countries to provide help in bringing clean water to the less fortunate in third
world countries who are, more often than not, being overlooked and forgotten by
their own governments. WaterEC commends his efforts.