Water is Life

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I.S. 303 in Brooklyn ROCKS IT for Clean Water!!

We are grateful for I.S. 303 in Brooklyn - providing Clean Water for so many in need On behalf of I.S. 303 we are so excited to present you with a check to continue doing the amazing work you do all over the world. After reading an article in the news, my attention was immediately drawn to the wonderful work you guys do each and every day and I just knew that my school had to take part in such an organization. I.S. 303 is a middle school located in Brooklyn, NY in the heart of Coney Island. Our student body is comprised of students from all different nationalities and ethnicities. While being an inner city school, we are always looking for ways to get our students involved in not only our community but others as well. It is through these real world applications and real life connections that the students are able to grasp the concepts and gain a better understanding of concerning issues facing our world today. A couple of months ago, our students were introduced to the novel A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park which was oriented around the water and political crisis facing the Sudanese people. It was incredible to see my students' faces when they saw images or read the excerpts from children suffering through these conditions. After reaching the second chapter of the book, my students were begging me to brainstorm ways we could help them out. At this point I knew the organization we wanted our fundraising money to go to. So with the help of my 7th grade class, the support from their peers, parents and faculty, the planning of our first ever Dance-A-Thon began. We set out with the initial goal of raising $1,000, with doubts we'd even reach $200. One week into planning the Dance-A-Thon and showing the touching clips provided on the website, our students were so moved and could not stop fundraising. When it came to the final week of fundraising we had not only met our goal but we had raised $1,635! When it was announced at the Dance-A-Thon the students as well as faculty members and myself could not have been any prouder of their efforts. The simple fundraising for this organization helped provide such a lifelong lesson to the entire school and we hope to continue these efforts in the years coming as well. Thank you so much for allowing us to take a role in the incredible work you and your volunteers do every single day. Sincerely, Jaclyn Warner 7th Grade Teacher I.S. 303 Herbert Eisenberg Middle School

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Introducing The Drinkable Book

Revolutionary Clean Water Product Introduced by WATERisLIFE and DDB New York DDB New York and WATERisLIFE introduces "The Drinkable Book," the first-ever Manual that teaches safe water tips and serves as a tool to kill deadly waterborne diseases - providing the reader with an opportunity to create clean, drinkable water with each page. "The Drinkable Book" features a brand new type of paper invented by McGill University & University of Virginia chemist, Dr. Theresa Dankovich, and works like a scientific coffee filter. Each page of the book is coated with silver nanoparticles, which kill diseases like cholera, E. coli and typhoid. WATCH The Drinkable Book Video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYTif9F188E The book itself works in three easy steps. Simply tear along the perforation. Slide the filter into the 3D printed case (i.e., the book's packaging). Pour the contaminated water through and the result is drinkable water. After passing water through the filter, there is a reduction of greater than 99.99% in bacteria count, which is comparable to tap water in the United States. Matt Eastwood, CCO of DDB New York, commented, "The Drinkable Book's filter paper will revolutionize water purification. It costs only pennies to produce, making it by far the cheapest option on the market. Each filter is capable of giving someone up to 30 days worth of clean water. And, each book is capable of providing someone with clean water for up to one year." Ken Surritte, Founder of WATERisLIFE, said "A staggering 3.4 million people die each year from a water related disease and, in most of the cases, the victims didn’t know the water was unsafe to drink in the first place. Therefore, 'The Drinkable Book' isn’t just a tool that purifies water, it teaches proper sanitation, too." The content on each page, printed in food grade ink in both English and Swahili, educates people about safe water habits – providing life saving information, such as keeping trash and feces away from your water source. WATERisLIFE will be distributing The Drinkable Book to villages in need as part of an integrated water, sanitation and hygiene program to save lives and transform communities.To find out how you can be a part of The Drinkable Book project email [email protected].

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WATERisLIFE Field Teams - Using Water to Nourish the Body and Soul. This is no ordinary day for Jane. Jane is a Maasai woman in Amboseli, Kenya. Like other Maasai women, Jane spends every waking hour working and serving other people in her village. Jane's day is spent doing hard labor. She built the hut she lives in. She does the laundry and the cooking. She tends to her children and husband's every need. She milks the cows and goats. She walks a distance to gather water that she will then have to boil so it's safe to drink. If she has downtime, she beads together beautiful jewelry to adorn her husband, herself or to sell to tourists that visit nearby Amboseli National Park. BUT TODAY, Jane is sitting down. She's putting her feet up. WHY is this such a big deal, you ask? Because Jane is getting her first pedicure. We wanted to pamper Jane; show her what love is; prove to her she deserves it! We soaked and scrubbed her dirty feet, then massaged them. We filed her toes. We painted them bright red (red, the color of Massai.) We could feel the joy. In Jane. In the room. We could see the joy. Not just on Jane's face but on all the women in the room. The others giggled as they watched, almost in disbelief. Never before, had someone taken the time to do this. To make them feel pretty. Special. But the real joy came to us when we saw Jane later in the day. Her beautiful red toes shining brightly in her dingy, rugged, sandals. As she approached us, she held out her hands. She had painted her fingernails bright red to match her toes. Her nails were shining and so was she. She was proud. She felt pretty. We all know Water saves lives! We can't live without it. At WATERisLIFE we witness pure joy when people pump water from a newly dug well. Today, we got to experience that and so much more. We also witnessed pure joy when we saw a sense of unworthiness wash away with a pan of water. Who would've thought that a few inches of water, a bottle of red nail polish and a simple act of serving could make someone feel more worthy and so loved. To learn more about how you can help people like Jane - Get involved

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I LEFT MY HEART IN HAITI

by Katie Cariker

When I heard about the opportunity to go to Haiti and work with WATERisLIFE, I immediately jumped in with both feet. I joined other students from my college’s Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF), and we went for two weeks in May 2013. One of the many tasks we were charged with was to dig a well in the village of Dargout with WATERisLIFE. With the sun scorching down on our team, the job wasn’t easy. The guys on our team took on most of the drilling, while the girls on the team, including myself, worked on building relationships with the community. I got the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the precious children of Dargout each day we were there, and I also got to meet many of their mothers. On one of the last days we were there, we held a sanitation clinic to teach the people of the village how to keep their hands clean, and how to keep water clean. We distributed personal straw filtration systems as well as bucket filter systems, both made by WATERisLIFE. Seeing the people so proud of what they’d just received was an awesome experience. To know that clean water, something so essential to everyday life and taken for granted by Americans like me, wasn’t accessible to those beloved people was really heartbreaking.

Knowing that it would be worth it in the end, we all pushed through the heat and loved on the kids and families while the men dug away, trying to provide a reliable water source for the people of the village. I brought the children coloring books, crayons, stickers and other various donated items. Keeping them entertained was fairly easy, as some of the kids were seeing a crayon for the first time in their lives. The kids were overjoyed just to have people spend time and play with them. Our time together was spent singing, dancing, coloring, talking and playing sports together. Each day when we had to pack up and leave, my heart dropped. Leaving those kids was very hard on me. I felt like I had started to establish real relationships with them, and even though there was an obvious language barrier between my English and their Creole (or French), love broke that barrier and allowed me to communicate with them.

As a 23-year-old college student going to school to be a counselor, my eyes were opened to the dire poverty, as well as the hunger for love and humanity in this world. Those children craved a basic connection with another human being, someone to love them and show them that they care. My heart was hurting for the people I fell in love with and left behind in Haiti, just two short weeks after I arrived. The well was dug, and we moved on to our next task: holding a medical clinic in the mountain village of Las Cagnite, which gave the villagers the opportunity to see a doctor, dentist and a pharmacist.

One of the memories that I have that will forever be ingrained in my mind is when I snuck water to a little girl. We were told to stay hydrated throughout the day so we wouldn’t get sick from the heat, but we quickly learned that although there were many little eyes staring when we drank the purified water, we couldn’t give every single child a drink. If we, the team, didn’t stay hydrated, we would be of no use to drill their well, which would eventually become a sustainable water source for Dargout.

I had developed a relationship with a gorgeous little brown-eyed girl named Dalinska, who was about six years old. I walked over to our truck in hopes of getting away from the kids for a quick drink. Dalinska followed me and tugged on my shirt as she begged me to give her a drink of water by saying, “dlo,” which means “water” in Creole. All she wanted was a drop of water to quench her thirst. As I looked around, I saw that no other kids were around at that exact moment, so I took the sweet girl around the side of the truck, out of the view of most people and poured water into her mouth. I couldn’t stand to look into her eyes anymore and tell her no, deny her water. After I gave her the drink, she clung onto my waist and gave me the biggest, tightest hug I’ve ever gotten before. As I looked down, we locked eyes and her big brown eyes peered into my soul. I hugged her back, held her for a minute and told her that I loved her.

My biggest takeaway from being in Haiti is that happiness is an emotion, and joy is a choice. Often times we privileged Americans tend to be very materialistic, basing our happiness on “stuff” or circumstances. You see, although they don’t know anything different, the people of Haiti have hardly anything, yet they are extremely thankful. They choose to be joyful through all things, through all circumstances. So friends, I submit for you to consider the next time you get down about something in life: choose joy over temporary happiness.

Aside from my experience, I highly encourage anyone who hasn’t traveled to Haiti or any foreign country, to go. Go serve and experience what I experienced. You will leave a piece of your heart there – I promise.

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It's one of our favorite times of the year to change the world!  

For 30 days in December - with your help - we will raise funding to bring clean drinking water to those in need in 2014.  When ALL of our WATERisLIFE friends donate over THiRTY days, we can continue to directly make an impact, saving lives and transforming villages with clean water, sanitation and hygiene solutions -  all over our world.  Do your part to change the world today - donate your 30.THiRTY.

What a great gift you are giving.  Life.

$30 in THiRTY days.  Thank you for your donation - now watch your generosity exponentially bring JOY to those in need! 

http://www.waterislife.com/about/donations

WATERisLIFE is a 501(c)3 TAX ID #26-4470550.   

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Awesomeness!

We just returned from Kenya and with your help, we were able to provide family water filters to Nkaitole's village and hundreds of his Maasai neighbors. We taught Hygiene Healthy Habits to Nkaitole's classmates and together we worked on drilling a clean water well in his village.  Nkaitole is doing wonderful!  Adorable photos of Nkaitole last week in his Maasai Village, Amboseli, Kenya in amazement watching Nkaitole's Bucket List Video...and helping out where he can.

Thank you for bringing clean water to Nkaitole and his community. You made the world a better place! 

We will return to Amboseli, Kenya in January 2014 to continue the work to bring long term clean water sources, hygiene education and sanitation solutions to Nkaitole's community, friends and neighbors.  Nkaitole says Asante Sana - thank you for helping him, and those he loves.

Please continue your support and DONATE to help bring clean water to children just like Nkaitole.  You are helping to save lives, and transform communities.  And that's cool!  Check out amazing ways your donations will impact others -WATERisLIFE. If you haven't seen it yet - WATCH Nkaitole's Bucket List Video - we suggest you grab a tissue. Thank you - together we've done good, and we are just getting started!

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SAVING LIVES. TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES. MAKING IMPACT.  Northern Ghana Villages creating integrated change from within. WiL WASH Action Groups taking first step toward life-saving behavior changes. From fencing of water sources, bucket filter systems (training, usage and monitoring) to eradicating unsanitary behavior, building solutions with local materials- latrines and soakaways. Communities achieving Open Defecation Free government status, trimming forest, creating community health action plans, soap making business start up...and the progress is only beginning. Saving Lives and transforming communities - from within!  WiL WASH Action Groups (WAGs) are departments in each village - responsible for action, monitoring and self sufficiency. Email [email protected] to learn more about how to be involved in Northern Ghana Village integrated transformations.

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Northern Ghana - color, beauty and need.  Change can happen.  Creating healthy communities through clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education. How can you be involved with www.waterislife.com

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The Tolon and Kumbungu Districts in Northern Ghana are desperately in need of sustainable clean water sources, sanitation solutions and integrated school Hygiene Education curriculum.  WATERisLIFE is working to bring sustainable clean water provision, combined with Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) transformation and integrated hygiene educational and training materials to help create healthy communities from within.  WATERisLIFE works at the community level to develop WASH Groups - a community Water, Sanitation and Hygiene team to create behavior change in their villages.

It is incredible to see the change occurring in the Villages of Zali and Kpaachiyili where WATERisLIFE has been working. The next step is to partner with Rotarians to work collaboratively to help transform 25 villages in Northern Ghana.  Change will happen - when driven from those wanting to change.  Healthy communities - clean water, sanitation and hygiene - an integrated approach will change the economics, health, education and environment for each village.  WATERisLIFE saving lives - transforming communities.  Amazing - email [email protected] to see how you can help make a difference in Northern Ghana and around our world.

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WATERisLIFE in partnership with Freedom Church in Owasso, Oklahoma brought clean water, hygiene education and smiles in a big way to Kenya in July!  The team worked to drill a new well - and repair two others! They provided hygiene education clinics in Kisii and Massai villages, and helped feed hundreds of hungry little ones at Maisha International Orphanage. The team trained and distributed 400 point of use filters in Maasai - that are truly making an impact!  Thank you to all on the July Kenya Team - you should be very proud, you really made a difference in the lives of others - and we think that is spectacular!

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DDB New York and WATERisLIFE have launched the “Kenya Bucket List” campaign, where a film crew travelled to Kenya to take a four-year-old Maasai boy named Nkaitole (pronounced Guytolie), who’s never been out of his remote African village, on an adventure to do all the things he’s always wanted to do before he dies. Why? Because in sub-Saharan Africa where he lives, unsafe drinking water is one of the main causes that prevents one in five children from reaching their fifth birthday.

The campaign is centered around a deeply emotional and powerful two-minute film, which documents Nkaitole’s bucket list from start to finish. In it, the viewer watches him (along with his Uncle Joel) traveling across Kenya, experiencing things like getting his first kiss, seeing the ocean for the first time, playing soccer in the national stadium (his personal favorite), flying in a hot air balloon, learning to ice skate, and trying ice cream. The film compiles all of these amazing experiences to help drive home the message that this little boy might not reach his fifth birthday unless we help him and the other children of sub-Saharan Africa.

This campaign gives a face to the millions of young African children who will not live to see their fifth birthday.  We hope that by sharing this one child’s experience, we can help raise enough money to provide Nkaitole and thousands of other children with clean water and the chance at a long and healthy life.

Enjoy. Be inspired.  Donate here.  Make a difference 

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Very cool WATERisLIFE work being done in Northern Ghana.  Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Projects are underway.  Working on funding - be a part of this integrated, life changing and transformative project  - WATERisLIFE.com  Thousands will benefit from your generosity.

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WATERisLIFE HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR 4 WEBBY AWARDS! Please help us out & vote for us in the following categories - CLICK ON EACH CATEGORY, SEARCH HASHTAG KILLER AND VOTE!

1. Social Media Campaigns

2. Online Commercials

3. Best Writing

4. Public Service

THANK YOU for your support - you are helping us to continue to bring clean water!  

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HELP SHARE THE WORD - WATERisLIFE Fundraising Project on Crowdrise!

Every day, 3,000 children die from unsafe drinking water. And we need your help to put a stop to this. In the next three weeks, we’re looking to raise $11,000 to help fund our next awareness campaign about the world water crisis in Africa. All proceeds from the campaign will go directly toward providing clean water to the Massai children of Kenya.

Our previous awareness campaign #FirstWorldProblems was seen over 3 million times and featured in Time Magazine, BBC, CNN, Mashable, Huffington Post and many more. It provided needed funds to bring clean water to so many in Haiti and we are hoping, that with your help, we can do the same for the people of Kenya.  

Please visit the WATERisLIFE Crowdrise Project - and share the word!

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WATERisLIFE Director of WASH Education;  Jess Lusin.

The past two years have provided me with the incredible opportunity to continue the development of the WATERisLIFE WASH Education Program. As the WASH Director,  my focus is on water, sanitation, and hygiene education. The Hygiene Education Program is supplementary to the entire process WATERisLIFE presents to each community where we work. We understand that not every village encounters the same difficulties with their water source, sanitation and community health. Some of the solutions we provide are filter straws, bucket filter systems, pumps repair, wells, or in ground water systems - in tandem with pit latrines, and innovative sanitation solutions.  The WASH Program is an important component of the overall goal to maintain a sustainable water and sanitation solution to transform the health of an entire community.  

Hygiene Education, when implemented correctly, can be transformational. Students listen. They watch, imitate, and retain the information they are given. They are eager and attentive. They share what they learn with their parents and families. In the past two years there has been  growth in the WiL WASH program. Our facilitators and participants are fully engaged in the program. Our program is supplemented with an excellent student activity book in partnership with Project WET. This student activity guidebook is culturally friendly with colored illustrations and in depth information on the following three topics; the awareness of germs, hand washing with soap, and the transport and consumption of clean water. Each of these topics are equally important in the WATERisLIFE WASH curriculum and the supplementary guidebook provides a visual aid that adds to the structure of the WiL program.

Healthy Habits - Healthy Lifestyle.  WATERisLIFE believes in an integrated approach - water, sanitation and hygiene solutions - to save lives and transform communities.

WATERisLIFE also distributes water filters with global partners and provides emergency relief filters where needed.

Check out Jess' WATERisLIFE Hygiene Video to learn more about the WiL WASH Education Program - WiL Hygiene Program

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Click above for the video to learn more about the WATERisLIFE WASH Education Program in Northern Ghana.

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In the Spring of 2010, Lindsey Andrews and her husband traveled to Ethiopia to adopt their two children.  While in the capital City of Addis Ababa she met a boy who struggled daily to find water for his family.  His story changed the way Lindsey and her family forever viewed water.  

Lindsey wrote the book - I Walk For Water - about this boy in Ethiopia whom she met - and his journey each day to obtain clean water.  It's a fantastic and inspiring book for young and old.

As a mother, lawyer, blogger, and author, Lindsey created Hilarity Waters Press, a publishing company committed to telling stories that encourage, inspire and incite compassion.  You can order I Walk For Water directly from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.com or from her Blog  www.hilaritywaterspress.com. You can also contact Lindsey via email andrews.africabound@gmail and she retweets at @ethiopiabound.  Her book is illustrated by the talented Jerry Bennett.

Check out I Walk For Water - a great read that may change your perspective on water as you go about your day.  Thank you Lindsey for caring about those that do not have access to clean water in our world - and helping to create ways to bring them their most basic need.