Humanitarian Aid: Winning the Terror War

[Rob Thornton]

LV, Check out the Christian Science Monitor about CJTF HOA . Allot of the things we've talked about show up in the article.

[goesh]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19121634/site/newsweek/

"Most of the LifeStraw's users will never drink anything fancier than plain water through the device. But its impact on their lives can't be overstated. More than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and 6,000 people die each day of waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery. In regions like sub-Saharan Africa, half of most people's water consumption takes place outside the home—either while they're working, or walking to and from school. Vestergaard Frandsen S.A.—which also produces mosquito nets and plastic sheeting coated with insecticide to fend off malaria—hopes that the $3 LifeStraw will drastically lessen their chances of getting sick. "It's a product that can save lives without spare parts, electricity or maintenance," says the firm's CEO. So far about 2,000 LifeStraws have been sold, mostly to aid agencies. (The product is still being fine-tuned for mass production.)"


My work in the bush was essentially cooperative development but I recall the dilemma of the health care workers in trying to persuade villagers to cover open wells and the constant struggle to rehydrate infants dying from diarrhea. The problem with well covers is not only the expense of getting them made and understanding the need for it but realizing that it adds yet another chore to already hard living and doesn't account for the fact that young girls haul alot of water. You got a 12 yr old girl that now has to lift a sturdy well cover off, draw water by hand and replace a sturdy well cover, assuming the family could afford the material to make one in the first place, then carry the water. Add to this the short attention span kids tend to have and it really wasn't feasible though well intentioned and consuming provider's energy/resources. Any quick, humanitarian reaction force would want a passle of these water straws to provide to the needy. I would presume the military is already on to this resource but if not, somebody needs to alert somebody to it. At 3$ a pop, you can't go wrong.