Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines) struck land late in the evening on November 7th, leaving devastation in its wake. The worst storm to ever hit the Philippines, and one of the strongest storms ever recorded, it has left over 500,000 people homeless and millions without food and clean water. The death toll rises every day, with fears that over 5-7,000 people may have lost their lives to this tragic event.
Without food, clean water and shelter, the survivors of typhoon Haiyan are struggling to hold on. Currently most of those affected by the typhoon do not have access to safe drinking water, which is critical to survival. The drinking wells and available water sources communities rely on have been damaged and highly contaminated in the aftermath of the typhoon, which will result in the spread of illness and disease if interim solutions are not put in place immediately. The provision of safe, clean water in temporary shelter facilities is an important part of the response effort.
How You Can Help
The Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale is raising funds to donate LifeStraw® Personal, LifeStraw® Family, and LifeStraw® Community water filters & purifiers to emergency family shelters and aid stations in the most disaster affected areas in order to rapidly provide people with safe, clean water.
We will match your donations up to $23,000, and use the total funds raised of at least $46,000 to purchase LifeStraw® water purifiers for immediate distribution.
With this matching program, the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale is hoping to provide more than 250 community shelters and safe spaces for children with safe, clean water. The filters will be delivered directly to our international humanitarian partners who are currently engaged in on-the-ground disaster relief in the Philippines such as ShelterBox, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), and Child Fund International.
Our #1 priority is water…The water is very dirty with E. coli, just dirty sediment and sand, and people are bathing in it,” Cogan said. “They’re also drinking it, unfortunately, which is making them sick. -Judy Colgan with Global Medic, as told to CBC’s Chris Brown.
The Impact of LifeStraw®
LifeStraw® Community water purifiers provide high-volume point-of-use water purification with built-in safe water storage to produce clean drinking water for community settings. They prevent waterborne disease such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, worms, and cryptosporidiosis, by removing viruses, bacteria, and protozoan parasites from contaminated water. Each Community purifier is capable of providing more than 100 people with safe drinking water each day.
LifeStraw® Family water purifiers are gravity fed systems that remove viruses, bacteria & protozoa without the use of batteries, chemicals or moving parts. They utilize a long lasting, 0.02 micron hollow fiber membrane filter, which provides 4750 gallons or 18000 liters of water, enough to supply a family of five with purified drinking water for up to three years.
LifeStraw® Personal water filters remove bacteria & protozoa with human suction power. They allow the user to pull water through the filter just like drinking from a straw, making them easy to use, convenient and portable. LifeStraw® Personal filters provide 264 gallons or 1000 liters of water, enough for one year of clean water if used daily.
LifeStraw® water purifiers have been successfully distributed to hundreds of thousands of people in developing countries and crisis affected regions around the world. Haiti, Pakistan, and many countries in Africa have received LifeStraws® since 2005. These purifiers provide an interim solution for water related issues until wells or long-term solutions can be implemented.
The The Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale is an official partner organization for LifeStraw® donations in developing and crisis affected countries. Our relationship with Vestergaard, the manufacturer of LifeStraw® water filters and purifiers, allows us to purchase and donate large quantities for aid, at factory-direct cost.
Fort Lauderdale Rotary 1090 Foundation Inc, a verified nonprofit. The campaign does not necessarily reflect the views of the nonprofit or have any formal association with it. All contributions are considered unrestricted gifts and can’t be specified for any particular purpose.
