Clean water thanks to the tea bag

Article from the BBC:

A group of researchers in South Africa has developed a filter that can purify water straight from the bottle.

It sits inside a tube that can be fitted on top of a bottle and purifies water as it is poured on a cup. The designer behind the filter, Dr Eugene Cloete, from the Stellenbosch University in South Africa, says the filter is only as big as an ordinary tea bag. He says the product is cost-effective and easy to use. "We are coming in here at the fraction of the cost of anything else that is currently on the market," says Dr Cloete on BBC World Service.

According to him the filter will not only stop harmful bacteria from getting into the water, it will also kill them. Dr Cloete says his team wants to have an impact on 1.2 billion people around the world who do not have access to safe drinking water. Read the full article on the BBC website.

If proven successful this new water filtering system could hugely benefit the lives of people in many countries that struggle to provide clean water for themselves and their families. In partnership with Excellent Development, Quest4Change has been working on the water relief project in Kenya. The project continues to improve the heath of the Kamba people by building dams, educating the residents and presenting farming initiatives.

The team working on a dam

In the Southeast of Kenya crops often suffer from low rainfall and poor soil fertility, as a result the Kenyan people often struggle to provide enough food for everyone. Since 2004 and thanks to the hard work of nine teams of volunteers, the water relief project has successfully constructed 21 sand dams and extended and repaired 16 further dams. This work will help protect the crops from drought and provide more food for the Kamba people. The project has also built three water tanks to provide clean water for the villagers.

Mbukuni women planting crops

Water is paramount in improving the Kamba's food production, health and ultimately their way of life. So far 20,000 Kamba villagers have benefited from the water relief project but there are still as many as 40% of sub Saharan Africans who struggle to survive due to their lack of clean water. Now, perhaps the tea bag will go beyond its duty of waking us up in the morning, to provide a successful way of providing clean water to those who are in desperate need of it. To learn more about the work Excellent Development and Quest4Change do in Kenya and to find out how you can make a difference please click here.

Natalie McIntosh