“People Water, [they] blew us away,” says Anna Nodtvedt of Water Missions International.
Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) February 19, 2014
In the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan, clean reliable drinking water is paramount to relief effort in the Philippines. Without sanitary water, the daunting task of rebuilding cannot even begin. Within days of the disaster, Utah-based, bottled water company, People Water teamed up with Water Missions International, a Christian, non-profit to provide immediate support and installation of filtration systems. These systems provide sustainable, safe water to those areas in most need. “People Water, [they] blew us away,” says Anna Nodtvedt of Water Missions International. In a matter of days, People Water was able to raise and donate greatly to the relief effort. “It was a huge, integral piece for us being able to respond.” With the potentially decade-long rebuilding and recovery ahead, the collective efforts of Water Missions and People Water are equally forward thinking. “It’s the ability to build tomorrow,” Anna proclaims. "These systems are not just meant to provide temporary relief. They’re going to help in the rebuilding process and they’re going to be there for generations.”
Engineer Chris Bryan, one of eight Water Mission staffers on the ground in the Philippines explains, “In a disaster, one of the biggest needs becomes safe water. People are exposed to deteriorated conditions, their distressed, and their bodies become much more susceptible to infections and specifically, waterborne diseases… A lot of the municipal [water] systems, or whatever they were relying on before, were destroyed. People were buying large 5 gallon bottles of water or they were boiling their own water. Now with the lost of infrastructure, if they wanted to buy a bottle of water, assuming it’s available, it costs five times as much. It’s not just about making sure people have safe water to drink. It’s a way to help them rebuild their homes because they don’t need to spend that time and money on water.” Chris and his team have been traveling throughout the Philippines accessing community needs and installing filtration systems. With 20 systems now up and running, Water Mission estimates that over 100,000 people are gaining access to drinkable water thanks to contributions like that from People Water. “They’re excited,” Bryan says. “They see this system being installed and they know, this is going to save us money so we can rebuild our houses. They’re out working all day. It’s a hot and humid climate. Now they know that they can come and get a drink of water and know that what their drinking is safe. We tend to think about only the ‘health’ side of it, but this water also aiding in the rebuilding effort.”
“This water is so vital,” says Crysta Sapp, Director of Operations for People Water. “A gift from our customers to the Filipino people. We are simply grateful to be a link in the chain of giving.”