Water is essential to achieving a larger security, sustainability, development and better life. The water scarcity is an insurmountable obstacle to helping oneself. Contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in water-borne diseases, including cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, and typhoid. It is reported that 115 people in Africa die every hour from diseases due to poor hygiene and water quality. According to World Water Development UN Report in 2019, only 24% of the population have access to safe drinking water, and 28% have basic sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Anna Ryu, the CEO of Water and Life Inc, said that she felt frustrated with herself for not being able to do something for water problems in developing countries. She began to be really concerned about that issue since she faced the lack of water treatment system at first hand while traveling many developing countries. She searched for the solutions to invent water filtration system for a long time, making a ‘Water & Life’, a water purifier using gravity. It can get rid of high turbidity. This purifier also has a UV lamp in its filter so that can remove water-borne disease pathogens effectively without any energy or power supply.
Her purifier was fully verified through a field test in collaboration with KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency). It was distributed to 40 households including 240 people in a Buzindere village near the Victoria Lake in Uganda. Residents took water from borehole or raindrops to the purifier and drank filtered water. After 2 months, more than 95% cases of water-borne diseases, such as, stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting, bilharzia, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, went away. Residents thanked that children no longer fall sick as frequently as before. They confirmed that their pains were originated from the dirty water and recognized the importance of safe drinking water and sanitation.
This test doesn’t mean that it only blocked the spread of water-borne epidemics. It gives us hope for eradication of poverty. They can save medical expenses and buy more food, grow crops or educate their children. Moreover, they can increase investment to get future benefits. And they used to spend hours each day simply finding and transporting water. But when a water security is ensured, time lost to gathering water can be reduced and people can get back to the work of lifting themselves out of poverty, which also make it possible for children to attend school or study regularly. It is more meaningful because they purchased the purifier by themselves, which drives them to move forward without reliance on foreign aid or aid-related assistance.
Clean water and safe sanitation are human rights not only for developing countries but for all around the world. Dr. Ryu aspires to provide more access for clean water to people in developing countries, starting from Africa. She is participating in improving water security in some Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia countries. Also she is planning to expand her business to developed countries with a premonition of natural disasters, especially US and Japan. Her device makes it possible to obtain safe drinking water in any emergency situation of energy shutdown. She demonstrated her commitment to help to alleviate water problems and to let people know the true value of clean water.
▲ Water & Life, Inc.
▲ CEO : Anna Ryu
▲ Brand : Water & Life
▲+82-70-4188-1530
Kayla Hong
Asia Journal
(Los Angeles Times Advertising Supplement)
