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The InnoCentive Insider: We can help save a life

BonnieJean Butler is the newest member of our Client Services team, and is managing the Water Problems Affecting People in Developing Countries Challenge.  BonnieJean spent time in India and offers a unique perspective on the impact of this Challenge.

You and I can help save a life. Yes, you and I. And it’s easier than you think.

During my world-wide travels, I saw hard-working moms walk for miles in the hottest, most humid weather you can imagine. The destination? The closest stream. Why? To fill a bowl of water and walk back those very same miles to bring the water to their babies.

Her goal seems like a simple one, but these moms know the water has something in it that may make their children sick and possibly die. They’ve seen before; so many other babies have already died. Maybe this time it will be different. Maybe this stream is cleaner. Maybe my baby is stronger than the others. Maybe not.  So why do it? Simply, their babies will die quicker without water. What a horrible choice.

In some countries, more than 20% of children die before they reach 5 years old and high bacteria content in water is a major contributor. It’s hard to believe or even imagine if you haven’t seen it. People world-wide are dying because of bacteria-filled water.

We wonder, “can’t they just fix it”? Great question! Here’s your chance to help, and it’s easy! Not like “lose 50 lbs in 3 weeks” easy, but really and truly easy. We are seeking to identify these water related issues and you can help identify and solve them. Submit your own ideas or forward this Challenge to your family, friends, or strangers; whatever it takes.

You don’t have to irrigate the Sahara. Smaller incremental changes or improvements are usually more actionable. Get creative with solutions that use limited funding, but create a big benefit for a population. Think about cost efficient solutions can be deployed quickly and have a wide ranging impact.

Please get involved with this Challenge. You really can make a difference and maybe even save the life of a child. So think about it… And pass it on.

BonnieJean

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  • Manuel Luis Aguirre Morales

    Usualy chlorine is used to kill bacteries in water, but heavy content of organic materia in water form also dioxines and other dangerous compounds. Solution to this problem is simply is to boil water before to drink. Other proceeding is to use ozone as desinfectant, or UV light to change DNA of bacteries so no reproduce.

  • http://www.dlut.edu.cn/gs/LiuLF Lifen Liu

    Use a piece of fabric, coat it with adsorbent and photocatalyst, use it to filter water, and sterilise and oxidize the clear filtered water using another piece of coated fabric using sunshine , immerse the coated fabric in a container (preferably shallow and with wide opening ). The facric can be washed, cleaned and reused by bathing in sunlight.

    It is cost efficient.

  • A J

    Hi Bonnie!

    I worked as a volunteer in India for many years, and I have an excellent and cheap solution to some of the common water related problems in poorer nations. I don’t encourage any use of chemicals or other materials that cause extensive costs or is toxic in nature. I also know most of the time the government fail to follow through on projects, and this in particular must be taken in consideration.
    I will send my solutions to Innovations next week.
    Another problem in countries like India where there is drought is that they have no water harvesting in rural areas during rainy season. Water harvesting was successfully done by farmers in Rajasthan, a project which was well awarded, and this project should have been implemented throughout the country.

  • Jose Alarcon

    Maybe I am talking nonsense….but a few days ago I talked to people living on an island (without electricity and regular water supply); they insured me that the water they collected from the ocassional rain was of much better quality that the one they pay for and is delivered via truck once in a while.
    I realize it won´t be possible to force raining water in some parts of the planet…but I am sure there are other parts of the planet where plenty of rain water is not collected…how to deliver it to where is needed??….it seems to me that is some artist are able to make artificial clouds….we should be able to get this water to where is needed

  • IB

    Carbon filtration , while not as sophisticated as ozone , etc is still a good source for water filtration provided the filtration is designed to disallow passage of micron sized particles like many harmful and dangerous bacteria. Personal water bottles with filtration devices installed could be considered for wide spread distribution in these countries. Perhaps a whole cottage industry could be created for making the replaceable carbon filters and also receptacles for water collection in the first place. Perhaps simple solar devices could be created to encourage water condensation and disinfection of what water is created. It seems that these mothers need to be empowered by simple industry to make life better for family and village.

  • http://none Solomon Wasserman

    A solar still seems to be the best way to purify the water from any contaminated source in rural situations, but it should be cost effective and reliable. The device could be installed on the roof to save space if required. I came up with the design of such solar still, but have no resources to patent it and to build a prototype.

    I would suggest another challenge: How to provide the technological equivalent of the municipal wastewater treatment for a small rural communities and farms? The treated wastewater could be used as the source water for the solar still above beside the benefit of reducing the spread of diseases.

    Fell free to contact me: elamirus@yahoo.com

  • http://--- Ramamoorthy

    Rain water if collected in clean containers can be used for months if covered to avoid dust and bacterria getting into it. The writter has sbeen using it for the past 27 years, getting drinking water throughout the year. In worst drought years we get 10 months of drinking water. In case one wants to be safe it could be boiled , cooled and used.
    A.V.Ramamoorthy, Tamilnadu India.

  • http://www.burlingtongreen.org Cathy Ridsdale

    IB suggested carbon filtration (17 August 2009, 12:14 pm) with the possibility of a cottage industry for replaceable carbon filters. I believe IB is on to something. I have found descriptions of methods to produce home-made charcoal briquettes from dried waste plant material and ground up starch-producing plant material for binding. Without the binding material, the pulverized charcoal in a thick layer can be used to filter the water. Charcoal can filter contaminants such as chlorine, mercury, iodine, some inorganic compounds, hydrogen sulphide (H2S), formaldehyde (HCOH), and volatile orgnanic
    compounds (VOCs). A sack from old material for the pulverized charcoal can be used. The used charcoal filter medium can be recooked in the charcoal making pit to clean it for reuse. Boiling the water after will cover bacteria and parasites. The briquettes would of course serve for smokeless heating and cooking to minimize lung damage for the family and as a home-made energy source give the mothers independence. Cathy Ridsdale, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

  • http://www.innocentive.com BonnieJean

    Keep all these ideas coming, and don’t forget to post them on the InnoCentive.com website. I’m thrilled about all these great suggestions!

  • Rosalyne Lane

    Rain harvesting is the best solution! UV filtering is good for bacteria as this sterilizes water for drinking.
    Water management ie drinking water kept separately from water used for washing etc. Grey water recycling.

    In Nigeria and Australia we utilized both.
    Dysentery is very rife and this will provide the best chance of survival as the immune system develops. Education and cheap and simple containers to collect and dispose of effluent and process water are all that is needed.
    Reed bed ponds to clean effluent are good digester’s, before allowing rivers and waterways being polluted, these systems can be village installed for good practice.
    In north Sweden bog toilets are still used and this process can be excellent for keeping toilet waste separate from water supplies. Again education why this is necessary. Saw lot of people toileting around village and in waterways where water is taken for drinking.
    River Dee in Scotland and surrounding areas are being polluted by tourists rough camping and polluting occurs in same way where Braemar is using fresh stream water for their supplies!
    Selfish and ignorant individuals need proper and safe practice.
    Carbon filtering by charcoal for impurities and a safe form of oil floating on top of harvested water to prevent parasites Mosquitoes in particular malaria areas) from breeding in the vats are excellent ways of managing supplies as well.