Disaster Relief
Together we have the ability to help
One of the most pressing issues after a natural disaster is lack
of clean drinking water. We were on the ground in the aftermath of
two recent calamities.
2008 Cyclone Nargis (Myanmar)
Our Foundation was poised to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis
like few other organizations in the entire country. We were on the
ground, ready to go, with our established Clean Water Initiative
that has been operating in Yangon for several years. Our travelers'
generosity was overwhelming, raising over $100,000. With these
funds we were able to provide widespread immediate relief, train
safe water advocates to disperse the filters in the areas most
affected and repair damaged ceramic water filter facilities. We
distributed 20,000 ceramic water filters to people in desperate
need of fresh drinking water in the hard-hit delta region,
providing clean water to over 120,000 victims. On behalf of the
people of Myanmar, thank you so much.
See photos from our intervention work in
Myanmar
2004 Tsunami (Southern Thailand)
Our travelers' response was overwhelming, and the resulting
direct aid effective: through our Clean Water Initiative in the
Burmese refugee camps in northern Thailand we were uniquely poised
to ensure that tsunami victims had access to clean water, and
immediately transported our filters south. We then set up a
production facility in southern Thailand that not only provides
clean water to very needy communities, but jobs as well.
We also donated funds to help a Sri Lankan fishing community
rebuild their boats. They had lost all their ships, and therefore
their community's livelihood. We are pleased to report that both
the water filter facility and the boat-building factory are still
humming along today, thanks to your contributions.