Safe Drinking Water for 1200 School Kids

Dear supporters,

During my recent visit to the project in Bolivia, I confirmed what the local team had told me before: that the project is progressing well, and that the impact is ever more visible. Thanks to the great work done in the past few months, we immediately could start with the training activities, and the participation of the local population was overwhelming - the room where we started out training soon was so crowded that we had to move to a larger facility.

The project is starting to stirr up interest with the local people and authorities. The project is getting logistical support from the Municipality of Anzaldo, where the project is located. During out training sessions, we train people on how to obtain safe drinking water using two different methods:

• Ceramic filters. These devices are very effective and can treat large amounts of water in a short time.
• SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection): This method is very attractive because of its simplicity and its low costs.During the present project, we actually want people to use two different devices for SODIS: standard PET bottles (common soft drink bottles) and specially designed plastic bags.

Over the next few months, we want to collect data on the different methods and devices people are using in order to improve the products and to learn more about how such effective interventions can best be integrated into local traditions and habits.

On a different note, we wanted to let you know that June 12 is a Bonus Day. This means that all donations received that day will be topped up by another 50%. Starting at 9:00 am EDT, GlobalGiving will match donations of up to $1,000 made through www.globalgiving.org. For example, if you make a donation of $50, actually $75 will go to the project. So please take advantage of this great opportunity and make a donation to our project - every donation makes a difference.

Best regards from the whole project team

Matthias Saladin

Links:

• Website of the SODIS Foundation