HydrAid

WGVU’s Kurt Steiner recently interviewed International Aid’s Vice President for Programs, Milton Amayun, to discuss Cyclone Nargis and the relief effort that is going on in Myanmar.

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June 12, 2008
7:00 pm
Central Wesleyan Church
446 W 40th St
Holland, Michigan

Voices 4 Praise, a Nashville recording gospel quartet, will make a concert appearance in West Michigan to benefit survivors of Cyclone Nargis. There is no admission, but an offering will be taken to help provide safe water for the millions affected in Myanmar (Burma) by Cyclone Nargis. The proceeds will go to International Aid’s goal of installing 100,000 HydrAid™ Biosand Water Filters in homes as they are rebuilt. For more information, about the HydrAid™ BioSand Water Filter, please visit www.hydraid.org. Join us on the 12th and you will not only enjoy great and inspiring music, but you will be helping IA save lives.

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I hope you all had an enjoyable and restful Christmas and New Year. It has been a busy time for me also, with trips to Honduras and other important IA water initiatives taking place during the holidays, as well as time spent with my family.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in Honduras for a couple days before Christmas for a special meeting requested by the Honduran First Lady. She presented me with a replica check for $175,000, a generous donation that will cover the cost for 11,000 HydrAid™ water filters.

_{From left to right: Cesar Salgado, the Executive Director of FHIS, Honduran First Lady Aguas Ocaña de Maduro, Myles Fish, CEO of International Aid, and Pastor Evelio Reyes, the pastor of Vida Abundante Church, our partner in Honduras}

This presentation was on national television and included a speech from the First Lady where she identified the provision of clean water as one of her top priorities.

The government of Honduras has conducted a very detailed survey in which they identified almost 300,000 households who still need clean water. The Honduran leadership recognizes the country’s great need for clean, safe water, and knows the impact it will have on community health. It is great to see how committed the Honduran First Lady is to this important cause. International Aid is so eager to help, and we have a team in Honduras now that is already starting a new round of filter installations.

This contribution is the great beginning of much more good to come!

I am visiting Honduras this week for a special meeting with the Honduran First Lady. Having witnessed our water-related work in one of the country’s villages earlier this year, she was moved to present us with a donation of $175,000. Those funds will go a long way to help ensure that the impact of IA’s HydrAid™ water filters will continue to grow.

Access to safe, clean drinking water is a critical issue in Honduras, especially in rural areas. I found this great overview on the Honduran water supply on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Honduras

It is great that the political leadership of Honduras is taking such an active role in addressing this crisis. We’ve already sent many mission teams to install HydrAid™ filters. This donation will help us to do so much more.

More to come on Honduras when I am back in the U.S.

If you live in the Greater Grand Rapids area, you may soon notice a billboard or two (donated to us as a Christmas gift from one of our Grand Rapids-based partners) encouraging people to consider donating a HydrAid™ filter this Christmas.

It’s our hope that holiday shoppers take this important invitation to heart, out and about town doing their Christmas shopping, and consider how easy it is to give the gift of clean water this Christmas.

The contribution isn’t all that much, yet the impact could be so great. If each person in a family gives up just one stocking stuffer ($5-$10 gift) this Christmas, they could contribute their family’s total toward a filter that would provide a family clean water for years to come. What’s more, it’s a gift that will actually save lives.

Welcome to the HydrAid™ blog and our newly launched HydrAid™ website! For those of you not familiar with International Aid, we are a Christian relief and development agency whose focus is to positively impact the health of needy people worldwide.

Since our founding, we have touched thousands of lives in 170 countries, linking those in need with those who can help.

Through our ongoing healthcare-related programs and projects, we aid people who have little or no access to health care, and often live days away from the nearest doctor.

But how could we really make a difference in these areas and be true to our ministry without addressing one of main causes of death and disease worldwide? Dirty water is killing more people each day than AIDS and cancer, combined.

So along with the other health care resources we provide, we actively sought a solution to provide clean, safe water to the millions who live with out it every day.

Working with several of our partners, IA built its new HydrAid™ filter around a proven filtration method, known as BioSand. BioSand filters are currently in use around the world but they are typically made from concrete and can be difficult (because of their size and 300 lb. weight) to deliver to remote areas of the developing world.

Using a new plastic technology, we’ve created the first lightweight plastic BioSand filter — HydrAid™. The filter is easy to transport to remote areas and install right in the home, is effective at eliminating harmful disease-causing pathogens and, at only $32, it will provide a family clean water for years.

The HydrAid™ is not a silver-bullet for the world’s water crisis – but it is a one of the most promising and effective filtration solutions available. And with the involvement of others like you, this filter will make a tremendous impact on this global health crisis that claims millions of lives each year.

We’ve already installed 10,000 of these filters around the world, and they are truly making a difference in the lives of others. Now, we ask you consider helping us meet our goal of 300,000! That’s a big number, but the crisis demands big-picture thinking.

These are my “starter” thoughts for now. Check back often for updates on our progress, spread the word to others, and please get involved today to help us achieve the goal of making clean water a reality for everyone, everywhere.

Myles