More than 54 million Filipinos need access to safe, clean, potable water. Our partnership which started in May 2015, with Biosand Philippines is helping to reduce this number to zero. We are currently working in the villages of Carmen and Cadalian in Mindanao, Philippines, to help distribute biosand water filters to eligible families.
The first step of our partnership was to determine where the villages currently get their drinking water. In Carmen and Cadalian, the main source of water is from a spring and rainwater. This water, however, is far from being clean, safe, and potable. A field update provides a description of the water in Carmen: “The water is generally clear, but when it rains it becomes muddy. We were told of instances when children and babies experienced diarrhea and vomiting related to water-borne disease. Most of the residents drink directly from the water source unless it becomes muddy, when they have little choice but to boil the water and the few residents who have money may purchase water.”
With our partnership, BSF Philippines was able to distribute 70 biosand filters on July 14, 2015. The filters will impact more than 650 people in homes and a school. In Cadalian, more than 100 additional families were interested in having a filter of their own.
This resulted in Surge and BSF Philippines providing more filters so that more members of the community can access the benefits of clean water. On Oct. 15, 55 more filters were distributed and will reach over 275 people, and it is our hope that another 60 will be distributed in December bringing our overall impact in this community to over 1000 people reached. The filters are incredibly durable and are expected to last for 20 to 30 years — truly providing a long term, sustainable solution for safe water access.
As we continue to work to make clean water more accessible to the 54 million Filipinos who are currently going without, please consider making a donation here. 100% of donations fund safe water, sanitation, and education projects around the globe.
As our wonderful partner BSF Philippines says: Clean water for life.
