What we’re funding and who will benefit:
100 (or more!) Lifestraw Family systems at $25 each. Lifestraw Family is an amazing point-of-use water filtration device designed and manufactured by Vestergaard Frandsen that eliminates 99.999% of waterborne disease bacteria, parasites, and viruses, bringing clean drinking water quickly and reliably, and preventing life-threatening disease from spreading through unclean water. The family system (an extension of the personal Lifestraw seen above) we’re funding filters up to 15,000 liters of water (about 2 years’ worth). See below for all the technical details.

In August 2008, Project H will travel to Mumbai, India, in partnership with Berkeley-based organization Haath Mein Sehat (Health In Hand). Haath Mein Sehat pairs technology and education to implement point-of-use household water treatment for urban slums, and educates Mumbai slum communities on unsafe water and disease prevention issues.

$25 sponsors one Lifestraw family system,- DONATE A LIFESTRAW SYSTEM NOW!

Lifestraws funded to date: 112 out of 100- and still going!

Details on the Lifestraw Family system:

THE NEED:
Currently, more than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water and five million people die each year from water-related diarrheal disease. The need for safe and clean water is especially acute for people living with HIV and AIDs. Chronic diarrhea is a leading cause of death for people with AIDs, and it affects up to 90% of HIV patients. Further, diarrhea is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected children. Thankfully, products like LifeStraw® Family can make a huge difference. In a study among HIV-infected persons in Uganda, for example, the use of safe drinking water decreased diarrhea illness by 36%.

THE SOLUTION:
LifeStraw® Familyt is a point-of-use product designed to allow consumers in the developing world to create safe and healthy homemade drinking water.

LifeStraw® Family is an instant microbiological water purifier that can provide, at an average, at least 10 liters of purified water an hour and more than 10,000 liters over the product’s lifecycle-enough to provide a typical family with 1.5 years worth of clean and safe water.

When used properly, it removes at least 99.9999% of all bacteria, 99.99% of all viruses, and 99.9% of parasites. It also removes dirt from water.

LifeStraw® Family builds upon the success of LifeStraw® Personal, a portable water filtration device developed two years ago by Vestergaard Frandsen and designed to be used outside of the home. Like its predecessor, LifeStraw® Family does not require electricity or batteries, making it ideal for use in difficult environments.

HOW IT WORKS:

Hit “Read More” for additional information about Vestergaard Frandsen and the Lifestraw personal device.

About Vestergaard Frandsen:
Founded in Denmark in 1957, Vestergaard Frandsen is an international company specializing in complex emergency response and disease control products. With headquarters in Switzerland, branch offices in Denmark, India, Ghana, Nigeria, Vietnam, Kenya, USA and UAE, and licensed production in India, Vietnam and Thailand, Vestergaard Frandsen’s international reach allows the company to quickly respond to complex emergency needs around the globe.

Vestergaard Frandsen strongly believes that business is for profit, but that profit must be for a purpose. The company’s unique business model, Humanitarian Entrepreneurship, has allowed these two ideas to coexist, turning humanitarian responsibility into its core business, and making Vestergaard Frandsen a leader in its field.

Lifestraw Personal (individual straw-type filter):

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 9:03 am and is filed under Fund This Product, Tales of Great Design, Water. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.