Introduction
Disasters come in many forms - earthquake; cyclone; flood; refugee displacement - but all share a common factor. The most urgent single problem facing the relief agencies is the provision of a supply of safe drinking-water.
In some cases, it may be possible for the relief agencies to supply water from outside the affected area. In others, there is clearly a need for those suffering in the aftermath of a disaster to achieve an early, if temporary, self-sufficiency in the supply of safe drinking-water.
The Solution is AQUABOX, a robust plastic tank with water purification tablets and packed with essential welfare items for a disaster situation. Once the welfare contents have been removed, each AQUABOX can be used to purify up to 1100 litres of polluted water, making it safe and pleasant to drink. As an example, 1100 litres is equal to 5,000 cups - that is enough for a family of four people (drinking 10 cups per day) for about four months.
Latest News
28/12/2006 Children In Honduras Enjoy Clean Water
The Children Of Honduras Trust based in Spondon, Derby, sent 10 Aqua 30's and 10 Standard Aquaboxes out to their mission in Honduras last March.They proved a great success. Clean drinking water is a greatly prized luxury many cannot afford. They were distributed to several schools, children's feeding centres, a children's AID clinic and a prison. The last location may come as a surprise. The prison in the capaital has the worst quality water in the city. Since very little is provided by the state, prisoners rely on their wives and partners, who come with their children, to visit them in prison and re-supply with basic nececessities otherwise unavailable to them. Those visiting usually have to travel some distance in the heat, often on foot. They need a drink while attending prison. One of the Aqua 30 boxes has been allocated to the visitor's area so that, at least for a while, the children do not have to suffer for the mistakes of the parents by having to drink contaminated water during their visit.
28/12/2006 Aquaboxes Airfreighted to the Philippines
Typhoon Durian hit the Bicol district of the Philippines, South of Manila, early in December. The typhoon resulted in mass devastation as a result of the onset of major mudslides that left behind many thousand of families homeless as a result of their homes being destroyed and carried away.Aquabox have air-freighted 200 Standard Aquaboxes out to the Philippines with the help of the DHL's UK "Aid and Relief Department" and the Philippine National Red Cross. This is the first time such a large batch have been directly air-freighted by Aquabox. The route was finalised with the help of the staff in the local DHL office in Manila and the intervention of the British Ambassador in the Philippines, Hon. Peter Beckingham.
The boxes will be distributed by the Philippine National Red Cross who are the only local organisation that are able to accept aid duty free/tax exempt.
Masai School Children Have Clean Water to Drink
In support of Bishop John Haydon's mission in the Masai district of Tanzania, Aquabox sent 120 Aqua30's plus 400 Stacked boxes plus 400 buckets in June 2006. The Norwich Eastern Daily Press raised money to help the 100 schools in the Masai district and the Local Rotarian, Philip Chubb, asked that we support the cause by sending water purification aid.
27/12/2006 Canada Initiates Their Own Aquabox Scheme
Stratford, Canada
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; initially in conjunction with World Vision.
Stratford's first 100 "Standard" Aquaboxes sent to their sponsores to fill with donated humanitarian aid starting summer 2006. They have a further 100 boxes to distribute as the word spreads and are optimistic that these will soon be taken up.
26/10/2006 Tsunami Survivors Get Clean Water - but they need more!
Leuser International Foundation 25 July, 2006
The roads of Banda Aceh are no longer impassable, but many still bear the scars of heavy use during the last rains. Easy-does-it is way to get through the maze of deep trenches and potholes that mark the journey to the refugee camps on the outskirts of the city. We are traveling with the Leuser International Foundation’s ‘Water for Aceh’ truck, delivering critical supplies of fresh water to hundreds of tsunami survivors in the Banda Aceh district. Nineteen months after the devastating tsunami rendered the city uninhabitable, life is very slowly again becoming livable for the tens of thousands of people who lost almost everything. Although houses have largely replaced the rubble, many basic services such as running water and road maintenance are severely lacking. To be fair, the task is enormous and solutions are currently being sought by the Indonesian Government, the Government of Aceh and a multitude of International NGO’s.
22/10/2006 Aquaboxes Urgently Required
Aquabox are in a serious situation now and a sudden demand for help has arisen, notably Sierra Leone where people are simply dying for the lack of clean water; we are simultaneously trying to support Togo and Tanzania. We have managed an initial shipment to Sierra Leone of 650 Boxes which whilst helpful will not stretch far enough.
It is therefore imperative that we get as many returns as possible URGENTLY.
We have felt morally obliged, in supporting the Sierra Leone situation, to supply additional "water only" kits; this is O K for a quick fix but it is very inefficient in terms of shipping costs and getting secondary humanitarian aid to the needy. Please can you help??
Rotary International’s Aquabox Saving Lives in Indonesia
The generous members of Rotary International’s Wirksworth club, through their ‘Aquabox’ program, are not only helping current Indonesian disaster victims to survive, they are also preparing for the next disaster by keeping an emergency stock of Aquaboxes at the Leuser International Foundation’s (LIF) Medan office. With the help of the LIF - a local NGO with over 10 years of disaster management experience in Indonesia – 3908 Aquaboxes have been distributed since June 2005. This partnership proved to be extremely effective when responding to the recent Java tsunami (17 July 2006) where Aquaboxes were on the ground within five days (a quick response considering the considerable distance between Medan (Sumatra) and Pangadaran (Java).