Author Archive

WATERisLIFE Volunteer Mark Bender traveled to Guatemala this week to drill a well with the Living Water International team.  The well will be drilled in a community just outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  Thanks Mark – clean water on it’s way for many!

BE A PART OF THE PROJECT! A WATERisLIFE volunteer team will continue work in Haiti in October  - The team will distribute 5,000 WATERisLIFE filters, work in partnership with Haitians on Hygiene and Sanitation Training Clinics and create long-term clean water solutions thru well rehab and research drilling at schools.

Below are easy and tangible ways you, your office or group can rally to help support the team to ensure the work in Haiti continues - providing water to those desperately in need – now more than ever. Pick one thing and MAKE AN IMPACT ON OUR WORLD!

These costs are based on 23 project areas to be impacted by WATERisLIFE HAITI RELIEF

1.  Transportation Costs in Haiti – $1,500

2.  Food and supplies – $100 week (10 weeks total)

3.  Hygiene/Sanitation Training Materials – $400

4.  Refrigerator and Innvertor for WiL Team living space – $600

5.  Fans to keep the WiL Volunteer Team cool – DONATED

6.  Construction supplies for long-term Team quarters – $1,000

7.  Individual Pump Rehab – $200 per project/area

8.  Communication tools –  $400

9.  Generator for power – DONATED

10.  You can also donate WATERisLIFE Filters – each filter is only $10 – and lasts for up to one year.  These filters not only provide life-saving water – but create an opportunity for each of us to make a direct impact in Haiti and you can SEE YOUR DOLLARS IN ACTION!

Please consider helping support WiL HAITI RELIEF so that we all can continue to bring clean water to HAITI.  Feel free to contact us to be a part of this important and life-saving project.

Donate to WiL HAITI RELIEF http://waterislife.com/about/donations/

OKLAHOMA OFFICE – ken@waterislife.com

ARIZONA OFFICE – kristine@waterislife.com

Are you trying to find a summer activity for kids that will have a meaningful impact on others?

Why not host or organize a simple WATERisLIFE Change iT event to bring clean water to children in Haiti.  Your event or activity will bring filters and change to Haiti in October – and you they will see your donations in action!  Kids can organize a lemonade stand, car wash, summer dance or swim-a-thon, book sale, collect cans and recycle, ….so many fun ideas to keep kids busy,  and cool,  this summer.  How about an all night swim party!  Kids can collect change and it will go directly to bringing clean water to children in Haiti. Check out http://waterislife.com/projects/change-it/ for more information and to register for a fun summer  Change iT!  Program!

As parents,  it’s our responsibility to continually work at instilling values that will form our children’s futures.  We strive to teach manners, hygiene, academics, respect, responsibility, and the list goes on.  Amidst it all, life can get in the way and without a clear vision; it can keep us from teaching the lessons that ‘in the end’ matter most.

Your vision may be to reach out and to touch the lives of others.  Your vision may not only be to care about others - but to take action.

Take that step, teach your kids to take time and care to reach out and transform our world; one smile and one giggle at a time,  It truly could be a life-changing gesture for generations to come.

A WATERisLIFE team will be volunteering to work in Haiti for 3 months to continue the WATERisLIFE Haiti Relief project. WIth your help, WiL needs to raise an additional 5,000 filters to be distributed during that time. The team will continue working in 23 areas in Northern Haiti to provide WiL filters, Hygiene and Sanitation training clinics and researching and developing sustainable clean water solutions – which will help transform Haitian’s lives and communities. The team will also focus on distribution of filters, hygiene and sanitation education and water pump rehab in and around schools – as children are the hope for Haiti.

Each of you can help, one filter is only $10 – and lasts for up to one year. These filters not only provide live-saving water, but gives each of us an opportunity to make a direct impact with our dollars – which makes a significant and meaningful difference to thousands.

If 5,000 people each donate one filter – what a dramatic way to help our neighbors access clean water, and lead healthier lives. Consider implementing the Change iT program at your church, school, or office – our simple change can truly Change iT in Haiti! Making a difference and having so much fun along the way!

For more information on the Haiti Relief Project, and other ways that you or your organization could help, contact: ken@waterislife.com or kristine@waterislife.com

Alexandra Cousteau Tells Katie Couric, “The Thing Every Human Has in Common Is Our Need for Water”
The daughter and granddaughter of legendary ocean explorers, Alexandra Cousteau, 34, tells Glamour columnist Katie Couric why the world’s water—both on the seas and in your faucets—is in danger. But she also shows how we all can help.

June 28, 2010
by Katie Couric

Making waves: Katie and Alexandra chat in New York City.

Growing up, I remember watching The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, hosted by the legendary ocean explorer, and being captivated by his charming approach to environmental issues, not to mention his French accent. Now his granddaughter Alexandra, 34, an ecological advocate who’s been honored as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, is carrying on his legacy. In July, she embarked on “Expedition Blue Planet,” a 100 day, 14,500-mile journey across our continent’s waterways to bring attention to the ever-worsening water crisis that exists right here at home. Clearly, the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been a wake-up call, but Alexandra’s message is that the ongoing threats to our most precious natural resource are potentially even more devastating. Our conversation has made me think about water in a totally new way.

KATIE COURIC: I want to ask about water in general. Obviously, clean water is important, but you’re talking about much more than that, aren’t you?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Yes. Recently I heard someone say that water is the ink that writes the poetry of life. That resonated for me. I learned to swim when I was three months old, shortly before my parents took me on my first expedition. When I was 7, I spent time with my grandfather in Monaco. We played this game at the aquarium where he was the king of this underwater realm, and I was the mermaid princess. He’d take me from one tank to the next and talk about the electric eels, sharks, little clownfish or beautiful seahorses and how all of these pieces fit together in this amazing symphony that supports life on our planet.

For those of us in the developed world, water is something that happens between the faucet and the drain. For those who don’t live in a place where water is readily available, it’s something you carry on your back for six kilometers, that makes your children sick, that is perhaps the hardest part of your existence.

KATIE COURIC: Something that can get you killed on your way to getting it for your family, if you live in a war-torn region.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Exactly. Water can be a blessing or a curse. Too often we make conservation about saving a whale, a coral reef or a marsh. But we don’t make it about saving life. The one thing that every single human being has in common is our need for water.

KATIE COURIC: Why is there a global water crisis? What is it?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: The global water crisis is most often referring to water and sanitation issues, but I believe it’s much more far-reaching than that.

KATIE COURIC: What do you think about the backlash that we’ve seen against the whole notion of climate change?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: It grieves me, because these issues aren’t political. They are about the quality of life of our communities. This country was built on the natural environment. It was built on forests and water and land and prairie. And we forget that. We take it for granted. And we mine and build and bulldoze and strip the land and pollute the waters and accept that as the price we pay for progress. In this country, the environment is still in the arena of politics, and it doesn’t belong there. It belongs in a space where we have mutual concern about the world that our children will inhabit.

KATIE COURIC: Some people may say, “Why should I care about the water crisis?”

I don’t think everyone understands how it affects them.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: We’re already seeing how water issues are affecting our communities at a number of levels. One is increasing scarcity. The Colorado River may experience water shortage in the near future.

KATIE COURIC: Because of climate change?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: And over-extraction. I think we don’t realize to what extent the abundance of water in this country is a complete illusion. People are experiencing increasing scarcity in both quantity and quality. There was a [2009] New York Times series “Toxic Waters” that shocked me. In West Virginia, coal [sludge] is actually getting into the water supply and women can’t bathe their children for too long because it’ll burn their skin and they’ll get open sores. These aren’t issues happening to “them” over there somewhere in the developing world. It’s happening right here. I think the most important thing people can do is to learn about their watershed. And it’s something no one knows. What is a watershed?

KATIE COURIC: Tell us, Professor Cousteau. What is a watershed? [LAUGHS]

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: A watershed is where our water comes from and where it goes. The Mississippi River watershed covers about 40 percent of the country, from Montana to Pennsylvania to Louisiana. But we also have local watersheds. I challenge people to learn about the one they live in, explore it, do a river or beach cleanup, find out what’s impacting the water that comes into their homes. And just using less in our home, teaching our children to turn off the tap when they brush their teeth.

KATIE COURIC: My children yell at me when I don’t. [LAUGHS]

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Also, it’s important to use biodegradable products. And cover our pools and water our lawns in the evening to prevent evaporation, to use car washes where they recycle the water rather than wash our cars in our driveway with toxic soaps that go straight into the sewage. Recycle our medication so it doesn’t end up in our own water supply; recycle motor oil. Motor oil that you put down the drain in Montana can end up in the Gulf of Mexico.

KATIE COURIC: People are so unaware of these things. I just don’t think it gets much attention.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: No. And that’s why we’re doing this expedition around North America for. We’re taking a 45-foot biodiesel bus. It was [Sen. John McCain’s] Straight Talk Express, actually. We’re recycling the Straight Talk Express.

KATIE COURIC: Are you renaming it?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Yes, we are.

KATIE COURIC: So I guess you’re not going to put “Drill, baby, drill” on the side. [LAUGHS] By the time this hits newsstands, God willing, the BP oil spill will be under control. What would you say the lesson to be learned from this is?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: That we need to de-politicize the issue and work together to find the most sustainable, renewable options. I really get frustrated when environmentalists say, “Corporations are evil,” or they say, “Energy producers are evil.” I think it’s distracting—

KATIE COURIC: And polarizing.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: And polarizing. I think everybody needs to have a seat at the table. A lot of corporations are doing amazing things, a lot of people are trying to find alternatives. If we’re going to successfully address these issues we need to do so in a way that is truly collaborative.

KATIE COURIC: You talked about memories of your grandfather. I’m so sorry to hear that your dad [oceanographer Philippe Cousteau, Sr.] died when you were just three.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: It was the defining tragedy of my life, and I think about him every day. But I was really fortunate, because my father was so extraordinary that he left a lasting legacy that graces my life and gives me constant inspiration. From that perspective, I’m an incredibly lucky girl.

KATIE COURIC: And it’s also wonderful that you were able to learn from and enjoy your grandfather, Jacques Yves-Cousteau, until you were 21 [He died in 1997].

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Yes. He was a magical, extraordinary man. He was a Navy captain; he made his own silent movies when he was 15. He was always the villain stealing the girl, driving away in the car. And he was a poet, an artist, a philosopher, a writer, a spy for the Resistance in World War II. He was infinitely curious about the world. He didn’t become the person we know today until he was in his 40s. He became an environmentalist when he witnessed the wholesale destruction of a place that we thought could absorb all of our waste, carelessness and ignorance. He tried so hard to help people understand that they are connected to the ocean even if they will never experience it, see it, smell it or feel it. He gave it meaning. He gave it a soul.

It hasn’t always been easy to be a woman in a third-generation, male-dominated legacy. But it’s been a really fun challenge.

KATIE COURIC: I guess you can’t imagine doing anything else. Okay, Glamour reader Paulina Appel wants to know, “Do you think there should be stricter regulations on offshore drilling because of the BP spill?” How about enforcing the regulations that are on the books? For starters.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: We could start with those, and probably revise them in light of what’s happened.

KATIE COURIC: And Glamour reader Julie Klejeski asks, “How do we balance the need to protect our environment with the reality of a civilization that relies on products like plastics?”

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Well, plastics are a huge problem. For decades, we have produced plastic products that remain in our landfills and oceans. We can’t ban them. It’s just not realistic. But we can invest more in recycling and proper disposal.

KATIE COURIC: And using refillable water bottles, right?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Yeah, but it’s not just plastic water bottles. The water footprint of a normal plastic water bottle is about two times the amount of water that’s in the bottle. The minute you put sugar in it, it’s about 140 times.

KATIE COURIC: Why?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: In every product, there is the actual liquid, but there’s also the amount of water that went into producing that liquid. So, for example, coffee has a huge water footprint, because, where it’s grown, it needs a lot of water for the plants, cleaning the beans, in the machinery, in the transportation.

KATIE COURIC: Are you telling me I can’t drink coffee?

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: No, no, no. I drink it all the time. Every product has a water footprint. The chair I might be sitting on—the water that watered the tree that the wood was taken from. If we start calculating all of that—

KATIE COURIC: It might make me go totally crazy.

ALEXANDRA COUSTEAU: Yes. [LAUGHS] It might. But it also gives us an opportunity to think about ways to minimize that footprint and offset it, by restoring the watersheds where the products are manufactured. Does that make sense?

KATIE COURIC: Yeah, it totally makes sense. You’re so eloquent. You’re a little poet yourself, missy.

>

Now that the media and many relief teams have departed Haiti, and the aftermath of the earthquake still prevails – helping Haitians obtain clean water is needed NOW more than ever. 5,000 FILTERS ARE NEEDED FOR HAITI BY OCTOBER 1, 2010

WATERisLIFE work has begun in Haiti – and now are drawn to do so much more.  WATERisLIFE has targeted 23 areas in Northern Haiti that are in desperate need of filters, hygiene training and long-term clean water sources.  The goal is to bring 5,000+  filters back to Haiti, as well as continue to provide them with the health and sanitation training and long-term clean water solutons.

WATERisLIFE team will be continuing the WiL HAITI RELIEF project in October, 2010. With your help we can raise 5,000 filters to be distributed to those desperately in need of clean water – a basic need.
A WATERisLIFE team recently visited Haiti to distribute thousands of filters and train community leaders – in partnership – on Health and Hygiene. The need in Haiti continues. A volunteer team will continue working in Haiti to provide WiL filters and tools which will help transform their lives and communities.
 
And you can help…each filter is only $10 – and lasts for up to 1 year. These filters not only provide life-saving water – but create an opportunity for each of us to make a direct impact in Haiti. DONATE NOW, and see your dollars in action!

Haiti. In the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  In a place stricken by natural disaster.  In a place without running water or consistent electricity.  In a place with voodoo and a challenged history…depair and hopelessness can easily prevail.

But somehow…through the eyes of perceived darkness, the bright smiles and sparkling eyes of the the children of Haiti gleem hope.  We saw the hope for the future of Haiti.  Kids being curious, and loving.  You can see hope.

The bright eyes and sparkling smiles of the children are the future of Haiti.

WATERisLIFE.com was so fortunate to share your gift of clean water with 5,000 while in Haiti.  With your help, WiL plans  to continue bringing filters, long term water solutions and Hygiene and Sanitation training to thousands more in need.  Providing clean water, and the knowledge of Hygiene and Sanitation solutions,  will allow children to remain healthy, attend school and bring hope to Haiti.

To view photos from WATERisLIFE’s most recent Haiti Relief Filter Distribution trip visit http://www.facebook.com/joinwaterislife

Women in Verrado, Arizona have hand made 91 baby blankets for mothers in need in Haiti.  The blankets will be delivered during the WATERisLIFE Haiti Relief Trip May 19th.

Thank you ladies for sharing yourselves with the little ones that will be born in the coming months. Your warmth is extending to many mommas and children in need!

Dear WaterIsLife:

Dana and Ryan collect cans from our neighbors and with the money they receive, they will be donating all to Water is Life, Change It Campaign for Odyssey Preparatory Academy!  They also watch after a cat named Woody on occasion and have donated a portion of their money to WIL.  Feel free to use the following picture in any way you can – pun intended!  (photo on www.facebook/joinwaterislife.com

Sincerely,

Debra Clements

 

 

 

Want to help in a simple way?

Join Advances in Dentistry Fan Page on Facebook and they will donate $.50 towards a filter.  1,000 new fans=50 filters…pass the word to your peeps!

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY MARCH, 28.

2PM-4PM

You are not going to believe this…Two home builders in Edmond, OK have offered to help with Haiti by donating the profits from the sell of three homes that they have completed.  Antonio Aparicio and Brent Wilson are local builders with an excellent flair for making a beautiful home.  If you are in the market for a new home and want to help with Haiti at the same time, maybe one of these homes is for you.  Below are pics and links with virtual tours.

If you are interested, please contact:  Melanie Chesser 405-330-2626

2051 Vaquero:

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One of my old friends came to me today and showed me something that he and his family did with their video camera…it BLEW ME AWAY.  I could go on…just watch it.  Thanks Stone Family!

I wanted to give you a quick update. First, thank you so much for all your help. Water Is Life has sent our emergency stockpile to Haiti. These filters were shipped to a staging area in Boston for IRD and USAID they are now on their way to Haiti with the medical team from USAID. The filters will be handed out to the people coming to the hospital and taught how to use them.
I can’t tell you how much we appreciate Senator Jim Inhoff and his staff. He has been helping to get these doors opened for us to partner with the medical teams going over.
Water Is Life has thousands more filters are being shipped direct from the factory, first shipment will arrive later this week.
I have a favor to ask: If you could Tweet, email, call, use Facebook and other means of social media to help spread the word for us. When the news teams leave Haiti in the next couple weeks, and the relief workers leave, the people of Haiti will still need water. The filters will give them clean water for a year.

Thank you for helping to raise awareness and encouraging others to help.

If you want to share with others the news story from Channel 9 coverage:
News 9 Special report:

http://tinyurl.com/y9he8y4

News 9 follow from today: http://bit.ly/6Akef9
Drinking from where? www.WaterIsLife.com/news/

Water is Life Facebook Fan Pagewww.joinwaterislife.com

Twitter: @waterislife
Twitter: @ksurritte

You are helping to make a difference in Haiti!

I have been on the phone all day talking with the folks in DC.  Senator Inhoff’’s office is helping us to get hundreds of filters into Haiti now and helping us get the door for thousands in the next few weeks.  One of the  things that drives me crazy is the fact that in a few weeks the reports on Haiti will stop but the need will continue.  When the media leaves, the relief workers will be gone and yet the need will still be ongoing. By sending filters we will be able to help LONG TERM, for up to a year. By the end of the year we will be able to have permanent solutions in place.

How can you help? Donate filters, spread the word, pray for the people of Haiti.   We ALL have to join hands together to make a difference.

Monday night Edmond North HS DECA students raised over $10,000 for Water Is Life.  I have to tell you to see so many students giving so much time to put on a first class show was inspiring.  This generation “gets it” they understand that it takes the efforts of all of us to help the less fortunate in the world.

You can read The Daily Oklahoman article here. Don’t miss the pictures! See them here.

Our beautiful sunny Sunday morning was shattered as Nita reads this article, “AIDS, malaria eclipse the biggest child-killers” We are reminded how important the work that Water is Life is doing and how the rest of the world is literally dying for this simple solution.

From the AP report. “Diarrheal diseases, such as cholera and rotavirus, kill 1.5 million kids each year, most under 2 years old. The children die from dehydration, weakened immune systems and malnutrition. Often they get sick from drinking dirty water.” Read more.

The report goes on to ask; “How did the leading killers end up at the bottom of the global health agenda? I don’t know,” Wecker said at a recent GAVI meeting in Hanoi. “We’ve got the tools. We’re not looking for the next technological breakthrough. It’s here now and it’s not being used.” Read more.

Death from contaminated water can be stopped by providing clean water, and a simple concoction to help the child back to health; “Death can often be prevented by giving children fluid replacement, a simple recipe of salt and sugar mixed with clean water to help ward off dehydration. Yet 60 percent of children with diarrhea never receive the concoction, according to a WHO and UNICEF report released last month.” Read more.

Thank you for your help in making a difference!

Please Tweet this out and share the link on your Facebook pages.

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Dear WaterIsLife.com;

You travelled through Indianapolis in September to tell us about Water Is Life.  My students were so impressed with the outreach that they asked for permission to host a bake sale.  We baked things over the weekend of October 25th, then we stayed after school to decorate and package our treats.  The next day, Tuesday, October 27th, we held our bake sale.  

 

We raised $144.04 for Water Is Life with our event.  It’s amazing how a group of 18-20 young people can reach their arms and hearts around the world, isn’t it?

 I’m attaching a few pictures for you to enjoy of our bake sale.  Thank you for your sharing with us.

 Regards,

Mary Ann Yedinak

Sycamore School – Indianapolis Indiana

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If you are a fan of Facebook you know about Fan Pages.  As most of you know I am a new to the world of Facebook.  But with the help of some of the cool kids we now have a Facebook page for Water Is Life.  Head over to http://facebook.com/joinwaterislife. You can help by spreading the word and sharing us with your friends.  Let’s see how many we can get to join, because…WaterIsLife.

 

WOW, I just got off the phone with our web developer eightdaystudio.com

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. He tells me that we are over 2 million hits a month on WaterIsLife.com website!  We are moving “TONS of data” which I guess is really good, cause they were all excited about that.  One of the things I found interesting is that 26% of the sites visits are from outside the US.

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Facebook Fan Page Update:  Thanks to each of you who have joined, we are over 400 fans on Facebook in just a few days. You can join the Facebook Fan Page here.  Thanks for your involvement and keep spreading the word!

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I had one of the teachers at a school I spoke at this week send me an article that I had to pass along.  It is titled: “Safe Drinking Water: A New Cause that Needs Continued Support” Here is how the article starts: “By the looks of it, a new cause has been born: bringing access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to those on the planet who still lack it.

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In the past few weeks superstars, led by Jessica Biel, pledged to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro; and Matt Damon told his story in Parade Magazine…all to raise awareness of safe drinking water and sanitation.

It goes on to say: “Annually about $6 billion in development aid goes to water and sanitation programs globally, but $18 billion is the estimated amount required each year to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for water and sanitation. This is a significant gap that only a coordinated global strategy can address.”

It is encourgaing to see so many others rolling up their sleeves to get involved in the crisis.  I hope that the high profile people will not only bring awareness but also the much needed aid to help with this growing world wide problem.

To read the entire article: The Huffington Post.

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RELATIONSHIPS is one of the most important if not the most important word in our lives.  We come into this world with relationships, mom and dad.  As we grow we bump into all kinds of special people. Our futures shaped, our path changed, our eternity determined by the relationships we have. I want to share with you about one of my new friends.

I met a remarkable young lady at a conference led by Les Brown

, she was a writer and had started a magazine. Her name is Patrice Kelly.  She recently did an article on WaterIsLife.com and the work that we do with Hearts and Hands International.

Take a look at Patric ’s magazine, get a subscription if you can.  You will be blessed by one of my friends.