The Challenge
The challenges around water access in Africa are not limited to actual access to water itself. In many cases the bigger challenge is making sure that water that people do have access to is safe for them to drink and won't cause any illnesses and deaths due to water borne diseases or contamination. The fact is when a child is thirsty and hungry they are going to drink the water they find or have access to. A further part of the challenge is the the long distances that typically women and children need to 
transport their water. As you know water is heavy and presents a daily challenge to move it to where it is needed for some urban, rural and remote communities.
Talking to the women in the community of Bergnek early last year they challenged us to find a way to make transporting water to their homes easier and to make sure the water was safe for their children to drink. We took this challenge seriously and sought the help of experts and people who knew more than we did to solve the challenges before us.
The Solution
We presented the challenge to a team at Arizona State University participating in the Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) program to help us find a solution to the challenges put before us; transport and safety.
The SafeSIPP team responded with an innovative, highly efficient and cost effective solution that goes one step further, by creating employment opportunities around the manufacture of their product. They took an existing idea and decided to expand on it to meet the needs expressed by the women of Bergnek. Their solution can easily and almost effortlessly enable a person to safely transport 144 litres of water AND purify it while transporting it to their homes. When they place the container in an upright position the device also serves to dispense the water through a built in tap.
Support
In October of this year we are planning to travel to Bergnek, Limpopo in rural South Africa to deliver the solution and with the help of the SafeSIPP team, to transfer the skills needed to manufacture the solution in the community for distribution to surrounding communities and perhaps even further afield in South Africa and surrounding countries.
What can your support through a donation do?
Here's how your donations can support the transfer of skills and the implementation of the project in Bergnek, Limpopo.
- $40 supllies 1(one) SafeSIPP Pureroll to the community - We need 100 to start
- $120 supplies 3(three) SafeSIPP Purerolls to the community - We need 100 to start
- $200 supplies 5(five) SafeSIPP Purerolls to the community - We need 100 to start
- $250 - supports the training of the community members in manufacturing the Pureroll
- $500 - pays for lodging and food for a student to be in the community for 5 days - We have 5 students travelling this October
- $750 - supports the cost of transport for the 5 students within South Africa this October
- $1,500 - pays for the airfare for a student to travel to and from South Africa this October
What else does My Arms Wide Open do?
We have big goals for what we want to accomplish in 2012 – and we need your help to get there.
That's why I contribute a significant portion of my own top line income and resources to people in the communities of My Arms Wide Open, because I believe that I need to do my part in creating and enabling the change needed in our world.
Our work takes many forms – supporting women entrepreneurs and providing women with the opportunities to create the future they want for their children; transferring in the missing skills to create economic activity in communities; providing washable and reusable menstrual supplies for girls in struggling communities helping the girls to stay in school; building our vertical food garden walls to provide sustainable food sources in communities around the world without access to regular food supplies, arable land or consistent and readily available water resources; providing education to children and communities on growing their own food in healthy and sustainable ways; working with children, youth and woman in our Iziko Labahlali programs to believe that they matter, are worth it and can contribute to their families and communities in meaningful ways; providing innovative and creative education systems and support for community based schools.
But every project we undertake together stems from the heart and from the same belief – give of yourself, give people the skills, tools and opportunities they need to improve their lives, and they will be empowered to build a stronger tomorrow for themselves and their children.
I hope you will partner with us in the life-changing work we are doing each and every day. Please don't wait to get involved. Every $1 counts.
Because of you, we've achieved amazing things in the past 2 years – but you and I both know our job is far from done. I look forward to working with you to continue building a better world.
Your Comments: Let us know what you think. For more information, please contact us using the information below or if you would like to find out more about our Causes and the initiatives we are undertaking in each one, visit our website using the links here and get engaged.
- My Business My Community: entrepreneurship
- My World My Garden: food security
- My Family My Community: community-based infrastructure.
- My First Steps My Path: education
- My Mentor My Coach: mindset/mentoring/mindful action
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For more information please contact us at: email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Support members of the rural communities in South Africa to participate and BE the Change! 
