How the Campaign Works
For the past four years the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale has committed to raising funds for clean water programs throughout the developing world. Collectively we have raised over $300,000 so that orphans and families in impoverished communities from Haiti to Tanzania can drink clean water free from waterborne diseases.
This next year we are looking to build on the successes of these previous years and scale our impact through a fundraising partnership with other ambitious Rotarians. From July 2012 through May 2013 we will be raising funds so that upwards of 20,000 households in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV/AIDS positive family members can receive safe, clean water for three (3) years. This scaled impact will be achieved through distribution of LifeStraw® Family household water filters, the larger more sustainable version of the personal LifeStraw® that we have had so much success with.
We are all well familiar with the global statistics on access to water, by the most recent estimates over 3.5 million people die each year from diarrheal disease caused by unclean water. The risk is even greater for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).
Contaminated water causes diarrheal disease that leads to decreased absorption of essential nutrients. HIV positive mothers, in efforts to decrease the risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding, often rely on formula to feed their babies. Formula made with unclean water puts these infants at heightened risk for waterborne, life-threatening diseases. With your help we hope to reach a scaled impact this next year – please consider supporting this important campaign.