The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles — it delivers smart mobility services. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.
Water, one of the earth's most important natural resources, is abundant for most of the developed world: We have taps with clean drinking water, showers with warm water and stores stocked with bottles.
But for a large percentage of people, these simple, over-looked luxuries are not available. The U.N. has collected stats showing that one in six people in the world — approximately 894 million people — don't have access to the recommended amount of fresh water for daily living.
Of course it's not just drinking water that's the problem. Today, 2.5 billion people live without basic sanitation, according to the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. Every 20 seconds, a child dies because of poor sanitation, resulting in approximately 1.5 million deaths annually. Solving a basic need like water access allows developing communities to tackle and devote resources to more complex issues. Heck, it's even one of the U.N.'s ambitious Millennium Development Goals.
The good news is that a lot of organizations are realizing the need to address water access with some innovative tech and campaigns. Take a look at these four initiatives and let us know in the comments of any other ways organizations are addressing issues around water access.
1. Dollars to Projects — charity: water
Sure, charity: water may be one of the largest water organizations out there, but they've broken new ground with its Dollars to Projects campaign. The project attempts to match every single donated dollar to an actual, on-the-ground initiative that charity: water is funding.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but a lot of non-profits and charities often forget to keep their donors updated on where their money went. People are often more willing to give up their cash when they feel like they are part of a team trying to do good. Dollars to Projects does just that by keeping donors updated for years, sending out photos, videos and posts on how the projects are coming along.
2. Buy Some Clothing — This Shirt Helps
The good folks at This Shirt Helps have come up with a way for you to stay warm and support a good cause. The company sells just the basics — different t-shirts in different colors — with a social good spin. A percentage of every shirt goes to a charity and cause of choice. For example, buyers can choose to donate to disaster relief which supports Waves for Water, a program that pairs surfing tourists with low-cost water filters they can set up in the developing countries they visit.
This Shirt Helps also plans to collaborate with Creative Recreation and Shiekh shoes to fund a large school and water access project in the first quarter of 2012, says This Shirt Helps co-founder Joe Huff. The apparel business rakes in a ton of money every single year, roughly $300 billion in annual U.S. apparel sales. If every apparel company could give just 1% of their gross sales, Huff says, it could generate enough money to fix the world water crisis in roughly 10 years. The U.N. estimates that $30 billion is needed to provide safe drinking water for every person on the planet.
3. Text It Out — Daraja
Mobile technology is increasingly important in developing communities where a cellphone is often the only connection to the wider world or Internet. Even though smartphones are becoming more popular, standard feature phones are far more common. SMS is becoming an important way for communities to receive and share information, including information about access to water.
A program tapping into this trend is Maji Matone ("Raising the Water Pressure"), run by Daraja, an organization based in southern Tanzania where there is a huge disparity in water access for the vast majority of the population living in rural areas, mLabs World reported.
Maji Matone updates citizens about rural water supply problems while also allowing the community to self-report breakdowns in water supply via text message.
4. Purify It - SteriPen
Once a community has access to water, how do you make sure it is safe to drink? Cheap, efficient water purifiers are in high-demand. There are a variety of high-grade purifiers on the market — SteriPen, for example, has options for camping, emergency and military use.
There is also, however, a new breed of extraordinarily low-cost purifiers hitting the market such as the LifeStraw from Vestergaard-Frandsen. The LifeStraw is a large, straw-like device that is outfitted with a series of water filters. Users can use the straw to drink directly from any source of water, instantly making it potable. There is also a larger, family-size version meant for larger quantities of water. Best of all, the LifeStraw costs only $19.95 with discounted rates for overseas and emergency use.
Series Supported by BMW i
The Global Innovation Series is supported by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles; it delivers smart mobility services within and beyond the car. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.
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