Colin Cartwright a volunteer with Aquabox came to speak to Warwick Rotarians this week.
In 1992 the Rotary Club of Wirksworth developed a lightweight water filtration system to provide clean water in a crisis, and set up the charity which is almost entirely run by volunteers.
When disaster strikes, whether it is natural – flooding, volcanos & earthquakes, or man-made – such as destruction through war, there is an urgent need to provide safe drinking water. Recently Aquabox has sent aid to Myanmar after the earthquake there, to which Warwick has donated £500, as well as Ukraine, Malawi, Nepal, and Syria.
When water supplies are severely affected: pipes may be destroyed, treatment plants damaged, or the supply contaminated by sewage or other fouling, leaving people with no choice but to collect water from available local sources, such as streams, rivers and wells, contaminated and unsafe to drink. Water-borne diseases such as cholera spread rapidly, affecting the more vulnerable young and older members of a community.
Colin showed Rotarians how the Aquabox family filter works delivering one litre of clean water a minute, there is also a community filter which can support six litres a minute for schools and community centres. The Aquabox family filters are assembled and packed by volunteers in Cromford in Derbyshire and cost £35. The Community filters are built by volunteers in Northumberland and cost £250.
The Aqua-aid Box, costing £150 is tailored to support a family group, and contains water purification filters as well as items of humanitarian aid to help with shelter and shelter building, lighting, cooking and feeding, educational development and hygiene.
Over 125,000 boxes have been delivered around the world, working with local partners, local Rotary clubs, Gurkhas in Nepal, HIHFAD in Syria, WASH in Ukraine or other aid agencies providing safe drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people.
To find out more visit their website: www.aquabox.org.uk.
Thanking Colin for his presentation Rotarian David Smith said so often in disasters there is plenty of water – just not available or safe enough to drink – this was really a life-saver, and worthy of our support.
President Dick Dixon with Colin Cartwright from Aquabox. Family filter
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