Safe Drinking Water for 15 day care centers

Dear supporters,

The last few weeks have been very busy for us: assembling filters, training staff of 15 day care centers on how to use them, and then making sure they are being used properly. The response from our partners at the day care centers was very positive and we continue to receive requests for additional filters and trainings.

Previous to our intervention, in some day care centers kitchen staff had been boiling large amounts of water every day, consuming a lot of time and energy, while at the same time being a complicated process with some risks involved (burning). Now, it is a matter of pouring the raw water into the filter and enjoying the safe drinking water which comes out at the bottom.

As you can see from the pictures, these filters - and the accompanying training and education activities - had a major impact at the day care centers. 50 filters have been distributed, improving the drinking water of more than 1,000 children. On average, this micro-project will avoid about 2,000 cases of diarrhea per year, and if we take into consideration the improved hygiene conditions achieved, the numbers are even more impressive.

At the SODIS Foundation, we are very satisfied about this project. With a very focused approach, we can reach out to the population group which is most at risk to contract diarrhea and other waterborne diseases (children under five), and we can do this in a very cost-effective way (the whole intervention costs less than 5 dollars per child). And the best about it: we are creating a healthy habit with children and their caretakers, which also impacts the community at large and leads to healthier lives, less expenses on medical treatments, and improved quality of live. What else can we hope for?

Best regards from the whole project team,

Matthias Saladin