Suffering from avoidable health problems has become a tragic way of life in developing countries. Millions of people are challenged by the burden of infectious disease, malnutrition and health complications simply because they do not have access to clean drinking water.
Together with its guests, Sanctuary Retreats has introduced LifeStraw filters to communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia through its Safe Water for Schools Programme, benefiting almost 57 000 individuals.
The LifeStraw filter is a high-volume water purifier designed to deliver safe drinking water. It uses hollow-fibre purification technology that converts contaminated water into safe drinking water. The filter removes a minimum of 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.999% of viruses and 99.99% of protozoan parasites. It also prevents waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, worms and cryptosporidiosis. Each filtration system can purify between 70,000 and 100,000 litres of water (enough to serve a school for three to five years), is chemical free and does not require electrical power or batteries.
The Nakatindi Medical Clinic and Maternity Ward in Zambia caters for a catchment area of over 11,000 people. The facility currently has two sources of water, a borehole on site and a connection to the municipal water supply from Livingstone. This should provide reliable access to clean water for patients and staff, but unfortunately this is not the case. The borehole water has been tested and declared unconsumable due to contamination from a number of minerals dangerous to human health.
The Nakatindi Medical Clinic and Maternity Ward, the towns local school, which has 810 students, the Chipego Bike Shop and Sishemo Bead Studio have now all been given their own filters. These LifeStraw filters will guarantee clean water to the community, transforming lives and reaping huge benefits for every individual.
Guests staying at Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, 12km upstream from the world-famous Victoria Falls, can visit Nakatindi and see the amazing work for themselves.
