Safewater International works to reach some of the most difficult populations of people living in extreme poverty to provide them with clean water. Safe drinking water is critical to people living in such conditions because illness due to the bacteria or parasites in unclean water can require people who would otherwise be working to support their families to have to stay home either to recover or to care for their sick loved ones.
Safewater International was founded as a nonprofit by Mr. Larry Siegel in Carpinteria, California, in 1994. Socially Conscious Investing online radio hears his experiences and perspective on addressing this critical issue for over 750 million people in the world.
“Great progress has been made by larger NGOs over the past 25 years. The number of people with no accessibility to clean drinking water has decreased from 1.5 billion to 750 million,” shares Mr. Siegel, “but there is still a lot of work to be done reaching the rural and difficult to reach populations.”
The key to reaching these rural populations, according to Mr. Siegel, is through smaller organizations that take a holistic approach by teaching and guiding people in these extreme conditions struggling for daily survival. The respect for native cultures is key while working with them to instill the value of clean water.
AIDS in Africa is being successfully combated with medication. However, clean water is central to helping recovering, weakened AIDS patients maintain their strength to fully regain their health. The battle with bacteria or parasites in unclean water could kill them when they might of otherwise survived.
In addition to providing safe drinking water, the Safewater projects work to involve the local communities by encouraging for-profit distribution networks. The products Safewater brings to the communities are designed with the local circumstances in mind. “It’s critical to get the people involved directly by purchasing the product, even if at a price below our cost,” explains Larry. “This way, they place value on the product and place a priority on its proper functioning.”
“We’ve learned a lot since 1994 when Safewater was first founded,” says Mr. Siegel. “Each project has had its lessons for us.” Projects now exist in South America, Mexico, Malawi, Sudan. Today, Larry lives in Taiwan and is working with Rotary to establish a water project in rural Cambodia managed by SWI.
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