RC of Rock Island's Water Project

The project founded by Rock Island Rotary in 2017 has been joined by Rotary Clubs in multiple Rotary Districts in Illinois and Iowa and has raised funds and is currently providing access to safe, clean drinking water for the first time to more than 20,000 children in rural, isolated villages in Kenya.  The project began with the first purchase of 35 filters and has steadily grown as word of the project spread throughout Illinois and Iowa. Rock Island Rotarians Phillis and Swanson have been the primary spokesmen for the project traveling to Rotary Clubs demonstrating the filter and telling the project story. The reception has been amazing, but also was as would be expected from Rotarians.  “Some Clubs passed the hat on the spot and raised money for one or two filters.  Others had individuals step up, write checks, and bought multiple filters”, Swanson said.   Each filter holds 13 gallons (50 liters) at once, is ultra-durable for harsh conditions and has a Lifetime of 26,000 gallons, enough for 100 people for 3-5 years.  After that, the primary filter in the unit is replaced for another 3-5 years of use.  The $350 cost of each filter includes delivery, setup, sanitation training in Kenya, and the replacement filters when needed.  The delivery and service of the filters is done by representatives of “Replenish”, a Christian not-for profit organization based in Arlington, Texas.  Replenish works with authorities in Kenya and 14 other African nations to obtain information on areas that have no access to clean water.  Fully half of Kenya is without safe, sanitary, drinking water. 

 

“We receive follow-up letters and photos identifying where our filters have been placed,” Swanson said. “Several of our members have taken safari vacations to African and requested side trips when in Kenya to schools who have received our filters.  Once the schools learned their visitors were from the Rotary Club that provided their water filters, our people were treated like royalty! The children sang and danced to entertain our members and then did cheers in English praising Rotary.” 

 

Each filter has a label with the Rotary Emblem and identifies the filter as being provided by Rotary Clubs from Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa.  Dr. Phillis demonstrated how the filter works pouring a quantity of muddy water and urine into the filter.  After about 15 minutes of filtering, pure, safe water was dispensed for members to sample.  Many stepped up for a small cup of safe, clean, filtered water. The LifeStraw Community filter can purify between 70,000 -100,000 liters of water, enough to serve community settings for several years.  It removes a minimum of 99.99% of protozoan parasites, 99.999% of viruses, 99.9999% of bacteria, and reduces turbidity (muddiness) by filtering particulate matter larger than 0.02 microns.  The unit has a filtration rate of 12 liters per hour.  The filter is Chemical-free, requires no fuel, no electricity, and no batteries.  It also meets the standard for the “highly protective” category of household water treatment options by the World Health Organization and complies with US EPA guidelines for microbiological water purifiers. 

 

Explaining the great importance of the project, Swanson cited data stating that almost two billion people have no access to safe drinking water, including fully one-half of Kenya.. An estimated 88 percent of childhood illnesses are related to contaminated water and poor sanitation. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. Patients suffering from waterborne diseases occupy 50% of all hospital beds in the developing world. 361,000 children, under the age of 5, die each year from diarrhea. At least 3,000 and possibly as many as 5,000 children die each day from diseases caused by unsafe water.  These illnesses are preventable and treatable and the primary reason that in 2015 Rock Island Rotarian Sam Wray began pushing our Club to get directly involved and do something to reduce the tragic deaths of so many children.  Sam and wife Hilde had taken a safari vacation and were both incredibly touched by the children, the poverty, and the preventable disease that was so prevalent.  Sam recruited Bob and Dr. Bud to help find a way for Rock Island Rotary to make a difference.  After researching the possibility of drilling wells, working through Rotary International programs, or striking out on our own, Sam urged us to take the third option.  Consultations with other Rotary Clubs, particularly the Fort Lauderdale Florida Rotary, lead to the conclusion that wells are often abandoned when fuel and money to purchase fuel for pumps runs out and when pumps and well equipment need repair and there is no expertise to fix it and no money to buy parts or hire repairmen.  Rotary International projects require using products and equipment made in the country where the project is based.  This is a very worthwhile and understandable goal in Rotary’s effort to help build the economies of developing nations, however Rock Island’s research indicated that the best and most effect water filter systems were not made in Africa.  They do make water filters, but they don’t match up to filters such as the Vestergaard LifeStraw, designed in Switzerland and the United States and manufactured in South Korea.  Forbes Magazine lauded the LifeStraw Filter as, “ One of the 10 Things That Will Change the Way We Live”.  The first water filter for the project was purchased by the Jordan Catholic Elementary EarlyAct Club which Rock Island Rotary established and sponsors.  The children conducted a coin drive and with our Club’s help, raised enough money to order a filter.  Shortly thereafter Sam & Hilde Wray donated $10,000 to get the project going.  From there others joined in and to increase the project’s impact and appeal to other clubs, named the project “The Western Illinois – Eastern Iowa Rotary Water Project”.  Bud and Bob “hit the road” passing the word and telling the story, and now have Rotary, Rotaract, Interact, and EarlyAct Clubs, as well as scores of individuals who have purchased or donated toward the purchase of filters.  As of now in addition to Rock Island, Rotary Clubs from Dixon, East Moline-Silvis, Erie, Galesburg, Galva, Geneseo, Milan, Moline, Morrison, Putnam County, and Tipton, Iowa have purchased one or more filters.  Putnam County, and Riverdale Interact Clubs, and Putnam County Jr. High Interact club also purchased filters. Bud & Bob made the presentation at the 2022 District 6420 RYLA and subsequently the Rochelle and Rock Island Interact Clubs joined the project.  The newly re-formed Augustana College Rotaract Club is currently fundraising to purchase a filter. Twenty-seven individual Rotarians have purchased a total of 216 filters and more than 100 Rotarians have made contributions toward the purchase of a filter. The project is an ongoing process and with 2 billion people in our world without safe, sanitary drinking water, there is no projected end to the effort.  Rock Island Rotarians intend to keep going wherever people will listen. Rock Island Rotary donates toward the purchase of a filter in the name of each guest speaker that presents a program for their weekly meetings. Rotarian Swanson said, “We will be forever thankful to the hundreds of Rotarians who individually or through their Clubs have joined us.”