Water

Lifesaver bottle

First 1,000 Lifesaver bottles shipped to Haiti

It is not the lack of water that threatens lives in Haiti, it’s the lack of clean drinking water says a leading water expert, and aid agencies and governments are in danger of looking at the issue the wrong way.
“Dirty water is the number one killer of children in the developing world,” says Michael Pritchard, the inventor of Lifesaver.

“But it is not the shortage of water that is the issue; it is the shortage of clean, safe drinking water.

“There are riots on the streets already with people fighting over bottles of water,” he says. “The solution is not trying to ship in millions of bottles of water; the solution is being able to use the water that’s already there but turn it into water people can drink.”
‘Lifesaver’ Jerrycans and bottles are proven all over the world. They have a unique filter system that enables safe drinking water to come from a contaminated source.

The first 1,000 of Pritchard’s Lifesaver bottles will shortly be on their way to the island, as part of Operation Blessing, but much more help is required, Pritchard says. “As little as £4 could provide one child with clean water for a year.

“Children need at least 2 litres of water a day to survive,” he continues. “One Lifesaver Jerrycan can produce the equivalent of 20,000 litres of clean, sterile drinking water. Put another way, one Jerrycan can provide enough safe drinking water for more than 700 people for two weeks,” he adds.

One pallet of Jerrycans is the same as trying to transport 1,000 pallets of bottled water, according to Pritchard.
“20,000 litres of water weighs 20 tons – ie 20 cubic metres of water. With space on cargo aircraft at a premium, filling holds with Lifesaver products makes more sense.”

* Operation Blessing is a non-profit relief organisation whose goal is to alleviate poverty and human suffering through various relief programs throughout the world.

For further information:
www.lifesaversystems.com