After any disaster – earthquake, hurricane, flood or tsunami – the most urgent problem facing relief agencies is the provision of safe drinking water. Disruption to a safe supply of water creates a breeding ground for such water-borne diseases as cholera and typhoid.
A Rotary Club in Wirksworth, England developed a solution to this problem which they named the Aquabox. Since 1992, that club has shipped approximately 70 000 Aquaboxes to disaster areas around the world.
The Rotary Club of Stratford has adopted the Aquabox as
an official project, in keeping with Rotary’s interest in international aid
projects. The Club plans to supply
Aquaboxes to survivors of disasters in the Western Hemisphere.
Basically, the Aquabox is a strong plastic box which
contains a filter cartridge and supply of water-treatment tablets. Besides the
water purification items, the box is filled with such items as clothing,
personal hygiene necessities, eating
utensils, basic tools, and flashlights,
candles etc. Once the other items have been removed, the box can be used to
purify up to 1100 litres of polluted water, providing enough safe drinking
water for four people, drinking ten cups per day, for four months. The Aquabox
has been extensively tested by an independent body, and has proven to be very
effective in providing clean water.
The Rotary Club logs and stores the boxes until an
emergency situation arises. Through Rotary contacts with international aid
agencies, the boxes are transported to the disaster areas to be distributed by
workers on site.
Rotarians are asking for sponsors of individual
Aquaboxes. For a donation of $100, the
Rotary Club of Stratford will send you a box, complete with water treatment kit
and four survival bags. The sponsor fills the box with items from the list
enclosed in the box. (Another alternative is to sponsor the box and the Rotary
Club will arrange for someone else to fill it.) The Aquabox is then returned to
the Rotary Club where it is logged and held until it is needed. Each box is numbered and linked to the
sponsor’s name, so we can tell you where your box has gone. The $100 donation
covers the costs of the box, water treatment kit, handling and storage, and
transportation to the site.
The Charitable trust of the Rotary Club of Stratford
administers the funds of the project and is authorized to issue tax receipts
for this purpose. The registered charitable number is 11912 -5433- RR0001.
If you would like to sponsor an Aquabox, make out a
cheque of $100, payable to the Rotary Club of Stratford, and designate Aquabox
on the memo line. Send it to the Rotary Club of Stratford, P.O. Box 21135
Stratford ON, N5A 7V4
If you would like more information about the Aquabox
project, call Ken Malvern at 273-0170 or e-mail aquabox@sympatico.ca.