Christmas and Hanukkah Greetings!
December 24, 2009
Once again, our company is making a donation to the Hydraid Safe Water program in the names of our customers, suppliers and many other industry friends.
As my involvement in taking Hydraid water filtration to East Africa continued to take shape this year, I returned to Uganda in March to meet with key government officials as well as directors of numerous international aid offices. The responses were enthusiastically positive, resulting in authorization to source the sand and gravel needed for our units (in the exact gradients we need) from the government itself.
Heading over to the Jinja area then, my key contact Paul Hunter took me out to the Fountain of Hope school in the village of Bukeeka to see the progress in their water and sanitation systems.
When I arrived, they were busy building a latrine for the 500+ kids now enrolled there. It didn't remind me much of anything I had seen the week before at the ISH Fair in Germany, but the concept is certainly a time-tested one.
You wouldn't believe how deep these guys dig these pits. The same day, we went to see the chicken farm of Abdu, the tall man standing in the middle of the photo below, where workmen were also digging a new latrine for the caretaker's house.
As we looked down into the pit, we heard voices and sounds of digging, but even using a flashlight, we couldn't see to the bottom where they were. One of the men estimated they were at the 30- to 40-foot level at that point (and still digging)! Frankly, I'm concerned that California conservation people will get wind of this (pun intended), and mandate the same zero gpf water consumption rate.
We're excited, as we move into 2010, to see the creation of our Hydraid packaging and distribution operation in East Africa, and the first installations of our disease-preventing, life-saving filtration units into homes and schools. With an installed cost of about $100.00, these amazingly simple systems will operate indefinitely without need for maintenance or element replacement.
Thanks to all of you whose business involvement with us is making this possible!
Blessings to you and your family at this special season.
Don and Jan Arnold
INTER/SOURCE SERVICES, INC