Move over, Brita

It looks like Sawyer's got the corner on the water filter market - at least in Zorange.

Remember two weeks ago when we told you about the Sawyer water filters that Brian and Lydia were able to bring to Zorange on our September trip? Here's a rapid-fire recap, intro-to-Glee style, for those of you who don't: This simple filtration system was developed by Sawyer to provide developing countries with a low-maintenance, fast, cost-efficient way to purify water, and they were included in relief kits that ECHO put together after the January 12 earthquake. ECHO, which stands for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, is based in Florida, and though they now work all over the world, they actually began their mission of "equipping people with resources and skills to reduce hunger and improve the lives of the poor" in Haiti. Brian & Lydia currently work at ECHO and were able to get their hands on a few filters to be used in the school and clinic. For the people in Zorange, whose only source of water is the dirty river accessible by a long, steep climb, these filters were life-changing. While they still have to walk to get water, that water is now safe for them to drink, which will greatly reduce waterborne illnesses like cholera. (And that's what you missed on our blog).

Following the trip, Brian and Lydia had an opportunity to give a presentation at ECHO, focusing on the water filters and their impact in the community. Well, thanks to their mad presentation skills and ECHO’s generosity, Hope for Haiti Foundation is receiving 60 more water filters to distribute throughout the community in Zorange! The donated filters have a total value of $3000 and will provide clean water to households throughout the Bigot habitation and greater Zorange area. These bad boys are en route to North Carolina right now, and we are so excited. (We’re talking SNL-Surprise-Party-Sue-excited here.)

We can’t express our gratitude to ECHO enough. Providing clean water to 60 families anywhere would make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of people, but because of the close community in Haiti, we really believe these will have a have a widespread impact. Now kids won't just have clean water at school, but at home too; people who are already sick won't have their immune systems further compromised by drinking contaminated water and healthy adults will have a much better shot at staying healthy. As we get ready to send our October trip to Haiti in two weeks, we're sure we'll be stuffing checked luggage full of filters, and after the community has used these filters for a consistent amount of time, we are going to work with our medical team on the ground in Haiti to try to track the decrease in diarrheal disease and other waterborne illness . Thanks again to ECHO for making this possible!

Sonie's Water Filter
To see a video of one of Zorange's residents with her new water filter, click here!