About a billion people have no access to clean drinking water, and every day over 6,000 lives are lost by drinking unsafe water. However, this problem is preventable, so N.C. State students are raising money to buy and send water purifiers to Africa for those in need.
Vestergaard Frandsen, a company founded in Denmark in 1957, has developed a water filtration device called LifeStraw. It is an inexpensive way to relieve waterborne diseases for those who are without access to safe drinking water.
LifeStraws work instantly without ever needing maintenance or electricity and can last up to a year. They are designed to function until about 700 liters of water have been filtered.
“This year we are sending the LifeStraws to Kwaza, a small village in Zambia,” says Maggie Earnest, N.C. State junior.
Earnest, along with other members of Wolfpack Environmental Student Association (WESA), is involved in the project led by Dr. Robert Bruck, N.C. State professor. The group is hoping to spread awareness about diseases caused by drinking unsafe water.
“Last year, we were sending to a village in the Bukavu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, with recent current events, there was no guarantee that the LifeStraws would make it into the right hands,” says Earnest.
WESA chose Kwaza because of N.C. State’s personal connection to the village. Former N.C. State student, Brian Levine, is now a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. The village is in the middle of a cholera outbreak, and LifeStraw has the capabilities to remove cholera to make the water pure for consumers.
“We hope to expand to other surrounding villages using other Peace Corps volunteers as facilitators. At the moment we are discussing possibilities with the Peace Corps representative on State's campus,” says Earnest.
By collecting donations from others in the community, WESA has almost achieved their goal of raising $2,000. They are hoping to send out the first shipment shortly.
“The more money we raise, the more people we can help! Whether someone can give $1 or $1,000, every little bit helps,” says Earnest.
Any Athens Drive student interested in helping out with N.C. State’s LifeStraw project may contact Maggie Earnest at mmernest@ncsu.edu. More information is also available on the Facebook group, LifeStraw @ NCState.