KITE
4 WATER
The
Kite 4 Water team is taking the first step for the kiteboarding
industry to bring clean water access to people all around the world.
Our
mission is simple: bring clean water access to every single
person that needs it. Our campaign involves identifying
communities world-wide that need clean water, traveling to these
regions that are in need, connecting with community leaders to
distribute water filters, and educating the communities on filter
uses and functionality. We will also be documenting every
trip to share each community's story and the life-changing impact
that these filters have.
Donations & sponsorships go directly to purchase & distribution of filters.
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Clean
water project: NEPAL UPDATE
Our
clean water ambassador Khris Loux is currently in Nepal building
septic tanks, toilets, clean water filtration systems, and helping to
educated people on proper hygiene in the aftermath of natural
disasters.
-
1)
The government pumps water but does NOT purify, so the water is not
safe. (This is why our filter systems are so important.)
2)
The earthquake destroyed or severely damaged 600k homes and 5k
public buildings.
3)
Displaced people are living under tarps, in man-made temporary
housing and have no toilets or running water.
4)
The result is open defecation which leaches into the ground water
creating high probabilities of outbreak of disease.
5)
Prior to the earthquake 10,500+ children where dying EVERY YEAR from
diarrhea, caused by contaminated water. (Preventable with the
filtration systems.) The risk of this number greatly increasing
this year is very real.
7)
Compounding the problem is the blockaded of fuel by India two months
ago. (India is reacting to Nepal's recent Constitution.)
8)
Fact from Nepal Progress Report: 50% of population, 16m people,
practices open defecation, 80% of communicable diseases are a result
of contaminated water.
9)
We are working on a project to install 700 toilets in the next 90
days (the national goal is 148,000 toilets per year).
10)
Installing toilets AND providing purified water is a two prong
solution... Remove the disease carrying waste from the water supply
and provide filtered water to wash hands and drink.
11)
The third prong is education as we build there toilets... Only 30%
of the population washed hands after defication and only 12% use
soap.
Over
600 toilets have been built already. We can go back to this installed
base immediately to install water filters.
It's
difficult to describe how life saving these filters are... Anything
you can get will save lives, NOW.
There are so many seemingly unsolvable problems in the world, but clean water is not one of them. More on our project at www.kite4water.org
Photos from Nepal.
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We have been working with other organizations that have already brought millions clean water access (YES millions) in just the past few years, using the same techniques that we are implementing.
Each filter brings 100 people clean water for 5+ years. This means that on a single trip we need to transfer only two hundred filters to bring over 20,000 people clean water access.
Our first goal is to get clean water access to 1,000,000 people and rally the entire industry to take advanced portable water filtration systems when traveling. We can do this in 2016, with your help!
SAWYER FILTERS
Other NGOs have distributed clean water for 8,000,000 people and counting.
We were inspired by Sawyer filters and the organizations they work with. These are small teams of amazing individuals bringing millions of people around the world access to clean water in only a few short years.
We are the first group to replicate what they have started, and we will not be the last.
As we begin our work in Central America this winter, we will make powerful video documentaries that will inspire thousands of traveling kiteboarders and surfers to join the cause.
Every location we travel to, we will also be meeting with kiteboarding and surfing schools to help us promote this amazing cause and expand our network, making it easier for travelers to distribute the clean water systems.
Co-Founders of Kite4Water.org,
Scott Gordon and Jeff Kafka, have traveled the world surfing and kiteboarding their entire lives, and now want to use those skills and network of locals in each region of the world to raise money and awareness to bring millions of people clean water.
1 filtration system is only $50, and brings 100 people clean water everyday for FIVE YEARS or more. That's 50 cents to bring 1 person clean water for 5 years+.
These advanced filters have a removal rate of 99.99999% for bacteria which cause Cholera, Botulism,Typhoid, Ameobic Dysentery, E. Coli, Coliform Bacteia, Streptococus, Salmonella, and much more.
Children and elderly are the most susceptible to these illnesses.
760,000 children under the age of 5 died last year due to Diarrheal infections, and almost all of them could have been prevented. This is senseless death. Millions of people travel the globe for pleasure, and they could be helping to provide clean water access to communities in need (from the WHO website).
RAISING MONEY
Donate filters
They best way to help our project is to donate a filter or ten!
For every filter donated, you are brining 100 people clean water for five years+.
Every single donation makes a difference, for every 50 cents, 1 person will receive clean water for 5 years+.
We will e-mail you a gift certificate immediately upon your donation/ purchase (before the fundraiser ends).
You can donate in someone else's name if you want to give this as a gift for the holidays!
Apparel
Proceeds go to purchase filtration systems and support our upcoming trips.
Help us spread this amazing cause, wear your limited edition T-shirt or sweatshirt with pride.
Kiteboarding excursions
We want to inspire you to contribute to the communities that we all enjoy traveling to.
The goal is to take as many water filtration systems as possible to the remote areas of the world + we kitesurf while we bring people the basic necessities for life.
Never before in history has someone sold kiteboarding camps & lessons to raise money for water filters. We don't only want to take these trips, we want to inspire others in the industry to do the same.
If we don't reach our goal, it just means we don't take as many filters on each trip. We are going on these trips no matter what!
Kiteboarding lessons
We will use kiteboarding lesson in the San Francisco area to raise money and also awareness to this great cause.
Through our kiteboarding schools we will offer DISCOUNTED lessons AND donate a filter for every lesson sold. Early bird specials will be limited so get yours today before they run out!
IMPACT & DOCUMENTARIES
Not only are we going to take filtration systems on every trip, we are also going to make a documentary of the trip and film everything from delivering the filters, surfing, and kiteboarding.
The idea is inspire people to travel with purpose, and change their mindset about how they travel. You don't have to drop everything and join the peace corps, do what you love and help along the way. This is people helping people.
We are going to take the kiteboarding industry by storm, and show people how they CAN make a difference!
Imagine if we inspire 1000 kiteboarders & surfers to take only 5 water filters to Central America (or anywhere in the world for that matter) in 2016. That is clean water for 500,000 people! This is a tangible goal.
Another long-term goal is to network Kiteboarding schools and leaders in the industry all over the world to join this powerful initiative.
CAN'T DONATE?
If you can't financially help our cause, then at least share it with someone who might be able to.
You might be one click away from educating someone close to you or saving someone's life if they decide to support our cause.
STORIES
RISKS & CHALLENGES
Our biggest challenge is to find leaders in each community, and empower them to educate their community, help distribute the filters to those that need them most, and maintain the filter systems.
The goal is to enter and exit communities mindfully, respect their culture, and help where it is needed. We want to listen to the people in each community, not push something that people don't want or need.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” -RFK
Technology that is changing the world
1 filter = clean water for 100 people for 5 years
This is as simple as it gets. There is no more digging wells if there is a water source, no constructing sand filters and no more chemicals to purify water. People are able to construct and adapt their filter in literally minutes to any buckets you can find almost anywhere in the world.
- Obtain a clean bucket or plastic container
- Use the hole cutter to drill a hole 1.5 inches from the bottom of the bucket (you can do this by hand).
- Screw the connector, hose and filter onto the bucket.
- Fill the bucket with water from any source, lower the filter head below the water line, and let gravity do the rest.
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Filtration Rates
At 0.1 micron absolute, it is impossible for any bacteria, protozoa or cysts to pass through the filter.
The technology was derived from kidney dialysis, Sawyer worked with a fiber manufacturer to actually adapt the hollow fiber membrane technology for water filtration. In order to improve both the filtration rates and longevity of the filter, they needed something even more precise and durable. The fiber composition had to deliver exactly 0.1 micron filtration 100% of the time to ensure no bacteria would get through, and the membranes had to be sturdy enough to withstand backwashing which allows the filter to be cleaning and reused. This is how these filtration systems last for 5 years+.
Fast Flow
Since there is such a high flow rate, the need to store water is eliminated, which reduces the chances of water being contaminated after it is filtered. The only energy required for the system to function is GRAVITY. The flow rate of a filter is determined by a combination of:
- Head pressure (The distance from the top of the water to the filter)
- Altitude (The higher the altitude, the slower the flow rate)
- How clean the filter is
- The filter itself (there are slight variations between filters)
Longest Lasting Filter
When the filter starts to slow down, you simply back wash it with clean water using the syringe provided in the kit OR a plastic bottle. Since the filters can repeatedly be back-washed and re-used, they have an extremely long life. The ease of operating this system makes it self-sustainable and dependable.
Sanitation
These filters and purifiers are so efficient and accessible that people will not only use the water for drinking, but also for cleaning, bathing, cooking, watering plants and more.
Natural Disasters
The bucket system is a perfect tool for aid in natural disasters. This system would eliminate the need to ship bottled water, and will last long after disaster relief has run out.
Community filters are $50 (not including shipping) and will provide enough clean water for 100 people per day. If maintained properly, they will last for many years.
