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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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Dow Underwrites Production of 300,000 Life-Saving HydrAid™ Water Filters

MIDLAND and SPRING LAKE, Mich., Feb. 25, 2008 - The Dow Chemical Company and leading humanitarian healthcare agency International Aid today announced a strategic partnership to advance International Aid’s global safe water campaign and Dow’s commitment to global environmental sustainability.

Through their exclusive agreement, Dow will provide all of the plastic resin required to manufacture 300,000 HydrAid™ BioSand Water Filters, a lightweight water purification device currently being distributed by International Aid and its partners worldwide. Dow and International Aid announced their partnership at the 2008 International Thirsting to Serve Water Conference, held at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

International Aid’s global safe water campaign is enlisting humanitarian groups, NGOs, churches and faith-based organizations, and individuals to help address the mounting worldwide health crisis caused by waterborne illness. More than one billion people across the developing world lack access to safe water, and nearly 5,000 children die each day from a host of water-related diseases.

Dow’s resin contribution provides a vital material component used in the manufacture of the plastic HydrAid™ filter, which, at just seven pounds, is viewed as a major design improvement to the traditional, 300-pound concrete BioSand filter currently in use in more than 70 countries worldwide. Manufactured by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Cascade Engineering, the injection-molded, non-electric device has no moving or replacement parts, is far easier to transport, and can provide clean, safe water at the rapid rate of 47 liters per hour, meeting all of a family’s daily water needs, including drinking, bathing and washing clothes.

“The simplicity, affordability and effectiveness of the HydrAid™ water filter hold the promise to make a dramatic impact on the global water crisis,” said International Aid President and CEO Myles D. Fish. “We are delighted that Dow is joining with International Aid and our growing number of distribution partners to help bring the HydrAid™ filter to the many thousands of communities suffering from lack of clean water worldwide.”

“As a world leader in chemistry, we are uniquely positioned to use our products and technologies to develop innovative solutions to supply cleaner and safer water to those in need,” said David Kepler, Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer for The Dow Chemical Company. “Through partnerships with organizations like International Aid, we can increase the global sense of urgency to help solve these world challenges.”

Dow’s partnership with International Aid builds on the Company’s earlier commitment to fund an International Aid-sponsored study in Ghana, West Africa, which is evaluating the effectiveness of the HydrAid™ filter in the field. Dow’s commitment to this initiative aligns with the company’s 2015 Sustainability Goals, and its pledge to contribute to solutions for some of the most serious problems faced by the most vulnerable members of the larger human family: affordable and adequate food supply; decent housing; improved personal health and safety; and sustainable water supplies.

About International Aid

International Aid is a leading Christian relief and development agency that provides and supports solutions in healthcare. Over the past decade, International Aid has responded to more than 100 man-made and natural disasters - including 9/11, Katrina and other major U.S. hurricanes, the South Asian tsunami and Pakistan earthquake - and has delivered more than $500 million in relief supplies to 170 countries. In addition to its high-profile relief work, International Aid is heavily involved in multiple development efforts focused in the areas of community-based healthcare; disease treatment and prevention; and leveraging the agency’s network of ministry partners to provide products, equipment and knowledge-based services to people in need worldwide.

About HydrAid™

For safe water-related resources - including more information about the HydrAid™ filter, video b-roll, photography, fact sheets and other water-related sources - visit www.hydraid.org.

About Dow

With annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in around 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Dow Media Contact:

Becky Wegener
GolinHarris for Dow
(703) 741-7514
rwegener@golinharris.com

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!

International Aid’s Safe Water Campaign Aims to Provide 300,000 Life-Saving Water Filters to Families throughout Developing World

SPRING LAKE, Mich., Dec. 21, 2007 - Leading humanitarian healthcare agency International Aid today announced the launch of its “1 Filter, 1 Family” safe water campaign, which calls on churches, other humanitarian groups and individuals to help address the growing worldwide health crisis caused by waterborne illness. As part of the campaign, International Aid is providing safe water-related information and resources at the agency’s newly launched website, www.hydraid.org.

More than one billion people lack access to safe water, and nearly 5,000 children die each day from a host of water-related diseases; worldwide, the total death toll from dirty water is a staggering four million people each year. For $32, International Aid will provide one of the agency’s innovative HydrAid™ BioSand Water Filters to a family in the developing world. A single filter unit will meet all of a family’s daily water needs, including drinking, bathing and washing clothes, for more than 10 years.

Beginning this Christmas, as a key initial step in the campaign, International Aid is reaching out to its thousands of church partners nationwide, asking them to participate in the 1 Filter, 1 Family effort by encouraging each family in each congregation to donate one HydrAid™ filter for a family in need. International Aid noted that if only a small fraction of America’s 300,000 churches participated, the agency could distribute enough filters to significantly reduce the problem of contaminated water in the developing world.

The centerpiece of International Aid’s safe water campaign is the HydrAid™ filter, a lightweight, plastic device that involves a proven filtration method called BioSand currently used in more than 70 countries worldwide - typically in a 300-pound concrete format. At just seven pounds, with no mechanical or electrical components, the HydrAid™ filter marks a dramatic improvement on the existing concrete systems, as it can be easily transported in rough and remote terrain. Most importantly, the BioSand method has been shown to remove 100 percent of parasites and up to 90 percent of bacteria and viruses from water.

“Since announcing our global safe water goals earlier this year, we’ve already made great strides. International Aid is currently in the process of installing more than 10,000 HydrAid™ filters around the world for those in need,” said Myles Fish, International Aid’s president and CEO. “This holiday season, we hope churches, youth groups and individuals across the nation will join us in taking this effort to the next level by giving one of the greatest gifts of all: a healthy life and the gift of clean water.”

The initial phase of the 1 Filter, 1 Family campaign kicked off on Dec. 2 and will run through Dec. 31, 2007. International Aid’s total, multi-year campaign goal is to raise the funds necessary to produce and distribute 300,000 of these life-saving filters worldwide. To participate, interested churches and organizations are encouraged to visit www.hydraid.org.

Fish added: “Our proposition is simple. This holiday season, for just $32, your family can provide another family a sustainable source of safe drinking water for a decade or more. It’s the equivalent of many people’s water bill for a month, or forgoing a coffee or bottle of water for 30 days. Most importantly, when you support the HydrAid filter campaign, you are truly helping to save lives.”

About International Aid

International Aid is a leading Christian relief and development agency that provides and supports solutions in healthcare. Over the past decade, International Aid has responded to more than 100 man-made and natural disasters - including 9/11, Katrina and other major U.S. hurricanes, the South Asian tsunami and Pakistan earthquake - and has delivered more than $500 million in relief supplies to 170 countries. In addition to its high-profile relief work, International Aid is heavily involved in multiple development efforts focused in the areas of community-based healthcare; disease treatment and prevention; and leveraging the agency’s network of ministry partners to provide products, equipment and knowledge-based services to people in need worldwide.

About HydrAid™

The HydrAid™ BioSand Water Filter was developed in partnership with Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Cascade Engineering, the manufacturer of the unit. Visit www.hydraid.org.

Editor’s Note: Attached photo shows International Aid billboard announcing Christmas 2007 safe water campaign.

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.

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.

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