Linking the World to deliver LifeStraw® Community water purifiers to support disaster relief efforts in Vanuatu

Six days after Cyclone Pam 67,000 people in Vanuatu’s two most populous provinces of Shefa and Tafea are still without drinking water.

DALLAS, TEXAS, USA, March 21, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Linking the World has arranged through generous donors to LifeStraw® for the delivery of 75 LifeStraw® Community water purifiers to Vanuatu. In the aftermath of Cyclone Pam, clean water is one of the most critical needs for human consumption, to treat the ill, to support search and rescue and prevent the outbreak of diarrheal, bacterial and parasitic diseases. The multiplier factor caused by the lack of clean water increases the number of affected people exponentially, especially children who are the most vulnerable to disease and infection.

“We are immensely grateful to our proud partner LifeStraw® who arranged through their generous donors, the donation of 75 LifeStraw® Community water purifiers to provide potable water,” said Mina Chang, Linking the World CEO. “Local water supplies have been heavily contaminated across the archipelago. In desperation, many are drinking sea water.” The donors who made this possible are the members of Water for Africa, a community wide international ministry out of Palm Valley Lutheran Church in Round Rock, Texas.

The LifeStraw® Community units will arrive next week via Sydney, Australia. A single unit can conservatively support 75 people. This lifesaving gift will aid around 5,600 people who are clustered in temporary shelters. Linking the World is partnering with the U.S. Peace Corps to deliver and install the units. LifeStraw® will provide training via Skype to aid workers in Sydney before they fly to Port Vila.

LifeStraw® Community is a high-volume water purifier with built-in safe storage that converts microbiologically contaminated water into safe drinking water. It’s a vital tool for community, educational and institutional settings that don’t have access to safe water, leaving them at risk for diarrheal disease, It meets World Health Organization’s “highly protective” category of household water treatment options standard and complies with US EPA guidelines. Each purifies 70,000 -100,000 liters of water, enough to serve community settings for several years.

It is important to note that while we are responding to an immediate critical need, the long-term implications for recovery related to water safety, are nearly incalculable. Water is the building block for recovery on all levels. Historically in disasters, where a near complete destruction of supporting infrastructures (shelter, sanitation, transportation and communications) and the provision of clean water is compromised, recovery has taken decades not years. The toll of widespread disease and death may be many times greater and the actual financial cost of recovery will grow almost exponentially.

About Linking the World
Since 1997, Linking The World has been saving and improving lives in the world's toughest places. Our network of committed humanitarians have responded to the global challenges of disaster, conflict and extreme poverty; enabling individuals, families and communities to survive crisis and build sustainable futures in forty-three countries. The mission of Linking the World is to deliver humanitarian aid that builds communities marked by self-reliance, sustainable infrastructures and lasting change.

About Water for Africa
Water for Africa is an ecumenical ministry begun by Dr. Dave Koppel of Palm Valley Lutheran Church of Round Rock, Texas, and Mr. Tino Hernandez of St. Williams Catholic Church, of Round Rock. The ministry is led by the members of Palm Valley Lutheran Church. Water for Africa receives additional support from 130 congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the members of Grace Episcopal Church of Georgetown, Texas. It is an all-volunteer 501c3 charity that was first designed to keep people in Africa alive until wells could be put in, and has since expanded to meet emergency needs throughout the world using LifeStraw products. Water for Africa has active in Ethiopia, Kenya and Niger. For contact information and to learn more: www.waterforafricacentraltexas.org

Ian Dailey - Chief of Staff
Linking the World
214.412.0929
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