SUPPORTING ROTARY’S MISSION
Clean Water Worldwide

November 8, 2005 : Molly Greene, a fellow Rotarian, shared the wonderful things that Water Missions International has been doing to help people have clean water, which is so necessary to help both abroad and in the United States. As you know, providing clean and safe drinking water is one of the major focuses of Rotary.

Molly shared with us, along with some great pictures, the accomplishments that Rotary has helped make and provide water systems to underdeveloped countries and even to the Hurricane victims in the Gulf. Her husband and fellow Rotarian, George Greene, has created and Water Missions has installed 248 portable water systems. 108 went to Tsunami victims alone.

Not only was it good to know the magnitude of the impact of the water systems, but it was also great to understand how the system came about. The first system, which we saw pictures of, was designed in six days after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. From that time, their mission has grown exponentially. Currently, they have over 50 systems in Srilanka 9 of which support a refuge camp of 20,000 people. Living Water Treatment System is transportable and can provide a continuous supply of safe clean drinking water for a community up to 3,000.

Molly showed a number of pictures of the Gulf area that chronicle devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina. Her observation was, “Everything is as bad in Mississippi as it was in Srilanka.” Seeing a comparison of pictures of Tsunami devastation and Katrina was very telling. Systems were designed and built within 6 days of Katrina hitting. We saw pictures of the volunteers that went down to help with not only the systems, but also other relief efforts. If you would like to volunteer for assisting with Katrina relief OR in the future, go to www.watermissions.org/volunteer.htm.

About 33 percent of the world’s population does not have access to reliable sources of clean water, and millions die each year due to diseases spread by contaminated water.
We would like to thank both George and Molly for the great presentation and even greater efforts to provide clean drinking water and support for Rotary’s mission.

By Wayne Outlaw