The Short-Term Solution
LifeStraws®

One effective way to help water-stressed communities is to donate and distribute LifeStraw® Personal water purifiers.  These unique handheld devices are produced by the Swiss-based company Vestergaard Frandsen.

The LifeStraw® is only $6.50 and can be used by a child for approximately one year of drinking water.

The LifeStraw® is a powerful and practical tool, especially for children in rural Africa who are often responsible for walking long distances with sheep, cattle and goats for grazing.  With the LifeStraw®, dirty water is purified into a safe drink as they suck water through the straw

Clean Water Saves Lives
Having immediate access to purified water prevents waterborne illnesses.  Water-related disease is the single largest killer of infants in developing countries—diarrhea alone causes 1.8 million child deaths each year—and access to safe water is the most important factor in the survival of children under the age of five.

LifeStraw distribution in Haiti

April 2012

February 2012

June 2011

March 2011

November 2010

A Proven Track Record
The Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale, in cooperation with the children of various schools such as the W.H. Smith School (a Syracuse NY Rota kids chapter grades 1 to 7,), Rotary International and Angel Mission, have already donated more than 20,000 LifeStraw® units to needy people in Tanzania and Uganda.

The partners are committed to reaching the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the number of people (nearly 1 billion people, or 1/5 of the world’s population) without access to safe drinking water by 2015.

Rotary International is a natural partner in providing clean water to prevent diarrhea and related life-threatening diseases; the organization has been instrumental in the eradication of polio around the world and has a clean water initiative recognized by the United Nations.

Please Join Us!
Please join the Rotary Club of Ft Lauderdale and other Rotary Clubs around the world in this common mission of providing safe drinking water.