Our “Water is the Lifeline of Life” Global Initiative was created to expand access to clean and safe drinking water for children and their families in developing countries as well as teaching health, hygiene and sanitation practices (WASH).
- In the world, a child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related disease (2006 United Nations Human Development Report)
- Dirty water kills more children than AIDS, malaria & measles combined.
- Diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death among children; nearly one in five child deaths. (UNICEF, World Health Organization 2009)
- The majority of families and schools in the villages must boil their drinking water to try to limit diarrheal diseases and debilitating, life-threatening illnesses – especially for the children.
- Additionally, about 80% of Tanzanians live in rural communities and so women and children travel up to 10 miles round-trip to haul buckets of the same river water that is used to wash clothes and water their livestock. Although these rivers are vital to the existence of their communities, they are also a source of disease and sickness.
GSP works at the ground level and has created a sustainable business model that has earned community support. GSP’s novel strategy worked – we ensured that the filters would take firm hold in the schools and GSP has installed 680 Hydraid Biosand Filters in primary and secondary schools, households, orphanages, health dispensaries and a district hospital in Tanzania. Moreover, the community appreciates our efforts to focus on project implementation through using local sourcing, local contractors and vendors, supplies, and staffing, which puts money back into the local economy –generating additional community support.
Beyond schools and teachers, women are key to building buy-in from the community. GSP helps secure a livelihood for the women by reducing the burden of taking care of sick children and gathering water, working fewer days, and generating less revenue. “If the millions of women who haul water long distances had a faucet by their door, whole societies could be transformed.” (National Geographic April 2010)
In addition, GSP has created a built-in workforce (e.g. teachers, clinic personnel, and community members) who live beside the beneficiaries, are leaders in their respective communities, and serve as our Master Trainers for our community partners. We have local staff to oversee the project, conduct follow-up evaluations, and provide recommendations for continuous improvement. GSP uses their anchor facilities (that already have filters) as their training facility for each village.
In 2019 GSP unveiled new innovative cutting-edge clean water technology: The Sawyer and the Uzima Water Filter Systems and donated and installed 200 filters to the most vulnerable communities (e.g. people living with HIV, the Elderly, disabled and seniors). These filters streamline the filtration process by eliminating 100 lbs. of sand and 20 lbs. of gravel that was used to filtrate the Hydraid biosand filter. GSP also promotes critical health, hygiene and sanitation practices, which has helped communities move beyond crisis intervention through education and training, promoting sustainable solutions as it relates to creating healthier communities, humanitarian assistance, emergency and disaster relief.