The unit will ensure that learners at the school, for the first time, have access to safe drinking water for up to seven years. The installation took place ahead of International World Water Day on 22 March 2016.
The Community LifeStraw is a high-volume, point-of-use community water purifier with built-in safe storage. The unit provides microbiologically safe drinking water for schools, health facilities, workplaces and community settings.
According to Dr Tony Davidson of Sea Point Rotary, the children of Berg River Primary often suffered from illnesses associated with unsafe drinking water prior to the installation of the LifeStraw. “The high incidence of absenteeism as a result of these illnesses was one of the main reasons that Berg River Primary was selected as a recipient of the Community LifeStraw. When we first heard of how unsafe drinking water was affecting the education of these children, it was clear just how much good this installation would do.”
A second LifeStraw was also installed at a nearby local community of 450 people, who have also been without safe drinking water. To date, the Sea Point Rotary Club’s Safe Water project has provided safe drinking water to six communities in the Cape Winelands area.
In addition to Rotarians donating to Rotary’s Safe Water Project, South Africans from across the country have also contributed towards these communities by purchasing Relate Bracelets. These funds are also used in funding of entrepreneurial projects associated with the LifeStraw units.
Relate Bracelets makes handmade beaded bracelets in support of more than 70 causes, one of which is Rotary’s Safe Water Project. Proceeds from the sale of each bracelet support not only the relevant causes, but also the seniors in impoverished communities who supplement their pensions by threading the beads. Many of these senior citizens care for their grandchildren and others orphaned by HIV/Aids. Relate’s younger staff members, who close and pack the bracelets, also benefit with training in their chosen fields to further their careers beyond Relate.
Relate Bracelets are instantly recognisable by their signature 'R' bead, a sign of their transparency and accountability. The purchase of just one bracelet, only R39, is equivalent to purchasing 2,000 litres of clean and safe water.
