Nearly 30% of the world’s total population does not have access to clean, on-site water service. Roughly 26% of the world also consumes toxic water. Toxic water spreads various diseases including hepatitis A, cholera, diarrhea and polio. Therefore, it is essential for communities and populations to receive access to clean water. Numerous nongovernmental organizations are attempting to tackle this issue by providing affordable clean water technology to developing regions.

Maji Safi

An engineering student and two professors at the University of Purdue are founders of Maji Safi. Their goal was to provide affordable clean water technology to developing regions. The organization began doing so by installing sand filters in rural communities.

The sand filter technology requires rudimentary supplies that can be found within the region they are implemented. For example, containers are made out of plastic buckets that are filled with sand and water. A plastic dish with a webbed bag is then used to collect water at the bottom. Finally, the filter purifies the contaminated water by utilizing sand as a breeding ground for bacterial growth. This type of bacteria absorbs and digests specific materials in the water that are toxic. As a final precautionary step, minimal quantities of chlorine further purify the water.

Maji Safi International has successfully applied this sand filter technology, ceramic filters and wells in various developing communities. The nonprofit organization would like to install a thousand of these filters over the next decade as well as improve its filter technology with the use of water pumps and smartphones.

The Paani Project

Paani is another NGO that has a mission of providing affordable clean water technology to developing regions. Four students at the University of Michigan are founders of the Paani Project. Their parents were raised in Pakistan. These students focus primarily on preventing Pakistan from becoming a water-stressed nation. Therefore, the students created a nonprofit organization that builds sustainable wells.

Since the organization’s creation, more than 750 wells have been built. Each well generates safe drinking-water for one hundred citizens. The organization also aids in providing Pakistani hospitals with supplies to effectively treat water-borne diseases.

The Paani Project’s mission is not only to provide affordable clean water technology to developing regions in Pakistan. It is also to raise water security awareness, provide hospitals with supplies for disease treatment and educate citizens about water-borne disease prevention.

Water.org

This NGO may not provide an innovative solution to purify water, but water.org does break down economic obstacles prohibiting individuals from acquiring water. Water.org does so through its “WaterCredit Intiative.” In over a dozen countries, this initiative allows individuals to apply for financing to acquire water services.

 

These are just three examples of NGOs that aim to provide affordable clean water technology to developing nations. Founders of these organizations understand that having access to clean water is necessary for health, economic development and more. Clean water allows our bodies to sustain healthy organs, eradicate the possibility of water-borne transmitted diseases and is essential for sanitation and hygiene, which is why it is crucial.

– John Brinkman
Photo: Wikimedia Commons