Midtown Rotary provides clean water to Coffee Bay, South Africa
Our amazing friends at Midtown Rotary have delivered 100 water-filtering drinking straws to the children of Coffee Bay, South Africa. Coffee Bay is a community near and dear to Vilakazi's heart. They were the first community we visited. (You can read more about that 2010 trip by clicking here.)
The Vilakazi Foundation worked with Midtown Rotary to apply for a grant to Rotary District 5750 to purchase $1,000 worth of straws. Each straw costs $10. Of the $1,000 in straws, $800 came from Rotary District 5750 and $200 came from Midtown Rotary.
The straws are portable water purifiers worn around a person’s neck to be used in any water source to provide clean, safe drinking water.
“Because of help from Oklahoma Rotarians, children in South Africa will have clean drinking water, a key component in growing up healthy,” said Leigh Jacobs, president of The Vilakazi Foundation. “All too often, children in South Africa die from a lack of clean water — something we take for granted each day. We cannot give enough thanks to our friends from Rotary for this wonderful gift.”
Water is Life straws are made from durable plastic about 10 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter. The straw’s inside includes membranes, iodized crystals and active carbon, all of which removes the iodine taste and micron-sized bacteria. It is effective against waterborne bacteria and viruses such as typhoid, cholera, E. coli, guinea worm, dysentery and diarrhea.
Megan Elliott, immediate past president of OKC Midtown Rotary, said the South African clean water project is a perfect fit for the international aspect of Rotary.
“This partnership is another great example of Oklahomans working together to solve a problem for total strangers,” Elliott said. “Time and time again, Oklahomans rise to challenges at home and abroad.”
The straws from the Oklahoma project were shipped June 30 by Midtown Rotary.
The straws will be distributed through Dawn Brochenin, the teacher at Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori who we partnered with in 2010.
"Each child will have their own straw," Brochenin said, "I will ensure that the rest of the straws are given to children between Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall, where they do not yet have municipal water, where the people are still drinking from the rivers."
The Vilakazi Foundation worked with Midtown Rotary to apply for a grant to Rotary District 5750 to purchase $1,000 worth of straws. Each straw costs $10. Of the $1,000 in straws, $800 came from Rotary District 5750 and $200 came from Midtown Rotary.
The straws are portable water purifiers worn around a person’s neck to be used in any water source to provide clean, safe drinking water.
“Because of help from Oklahoma Rotarians, children in South Africa will have clean drinking water, a key component in growing up healthy,” said Leigh Jacobs, president of The Vilakazi Foundation. “All too often, children in South Africa die from a lack of clean water — something we take for granted each day. We cannot give enough thanks to our friends from Rotary for this wonderful gift.”
Water is Life straws are made from durable plastic about 10 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter. The straw’s inside includes membranes, iodized crystals and active carbon, all of which removes the iodine taste and micron-sized bacteria. It is effective against waterborne bacteria and viruses such as typhoid, cholera, E. coli, guinea worm, dysentery and diarrhea.
Megan Elliott, immediate past president of OKC Midtown Rotary, said the South African clean water project is a perfect fit for the international aspect of Rotary.
“This partnership is another great example of Oklahomans working together to solve a problem for total strangers,” Elliott said. “Time and time again, Oklahomans rise to challenges at home and abroad.”
The straws from the Oklahoma project were shipped June 30 by Midtown Rotary.
The straws will be distributed through Dawn Brochenin, the teacher at Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori who we partnered with in 2010.
"Each child will have their own straw," Brochenin said, "I will ensure that the rest of the straws are given to children between Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall, where they do not yet have municipal water, where the people are still drinking from the rivers."
| Click here to read the official news release. |
