ASP partners with Waves4water to provide water for 100,000 people
Yeah I saw this tweet yesterday Mick:
Something about being the 'official charity partner' of the ASP that doesn't sit quite right with me.
I mean, the ASP have an Official Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy), an Official Beer (Carlton Dry), and an Official Camera (Go Pro). They're all commercial endeavours, which make perfect sense. But an Official Charity? Maybe they could have used better terminology.
Yep, not sure where to start looking for more information but assume you have to publicly disclose your donations and how much you actually give out and how much is caught up in admin.
Wonder if Acai will be the official food?
Shouldn't that be Chia?
no those Brazillian bowls of acai
To its shame I would think that Australia does in fact have "nearby areas of need" .
I recall looking into their work some time ago. Unless it has changed, they were distributing microfiltration units. I happen to work in the field of water quality and health and can tell you that microfiltration units won't filter out viruses and, depending on the pore size, all bacteria. Apart from that issue, you'd be hard pressed to find an expert in the field that would suggest this approach is a sustainable way to provide clean drinking water. And lets not forget that diarrhoeal diseases also result from inappropriate sanitation (i.e. access to a proper toilet) and inadequate hygiene practices (e.g. washing hands after going to the toilet). Current thinking suggests strategies employed by 'Community-Lead Total Sanitation' are the preferred way of reducing the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries.
Ever since the Red Cross took 3 years to get money, prosthetic arms and legs to victims of the Bali Bombings I have been dubious about charities. For good reason though for when a 'blue chip' charity like Red Cross says it will give 90% of the donated money direct assistance to the victims, Australians dug deep. Red Cross then backflipped and out of the 14.5 million given, only $2.3million got to the victims and their families.
Anyway enter the all new American charity Waves4water which was pumped in advertising at the Australian Open of Surfing, and now signed on with the ASP.
These guys are making some big claims,
"A filter lasts 1million gallons"
"One filter can provide 100 people with clean water for up to 5 years"
Additionally they are working with the ASP events to provide water "for nearby areas in need" (I assume the only place they refer to on the tour would be Rio).
"We work with world leaders and strategic partners who take a no nonsense attitude toward making global change"
(wtf?)
Though they have taken it down from their site, they previously said something along the lines that they have helped 7 million people get access to clean water.
My $15 filters at home last about a month and they are processing clean water. Surely these claims can't be right. What happens to the filters when they are stuffed? Are there new ones couriered in.
They have some flash marketing but it seems a bandaid solution. Be much better investing in building wells and educating people about keeping water clean. Anyway looking for some info. Has anyone been involved and delivered one of these things via the CWC program??