Teens Send Clean Water System to Pakistan

Hands 4 others, a non-profit created by local teens to bring clean water to those in need, provided all the funding to install a Water Treatment System for the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps at Jamshoro, near Sindh in Pakistan. This is the seventeenth water system funded by H4O in just 2 years.

“Sanitation is horrible in Pakistan right now, most of their water sources have been destroyed and people are dying from water borne illness everyday – we want to do something to change that,” stated H4O San Francisco chapter leader Sarah Armstrong. “We acted by sending a Water Treatment System last week.”

Floods, triggered by the annual monsoon rains, have significantly affected almost 17.2 million people and at least 1.2 million homes have been destroyed or badly damaged. The death toll is now in excess of 1,500 in what officials are calling Pakistan’s worst floods on record. The floodwaters washed away millions of hectares of crops, submerged villages, and destroyed roads and bridges.

H4O co-founder Spencer Dusebout commented “The spreading of disease is among the biggest threats in devastated regions right now. Each Living Water Treatment System we are able to install will supply more than 10,000 gallons of clean water each day to people in need.”

Jack Davies, another founder explained getting water to those in need was what motivated H4O, “When we started H4O our goal was to raise funds to provide clean, safe and sustainable water systems to areas of need around the globe. Thanks to our supporters we have been able to respond to world crises, from Haiti earlier this year to Pakistan, with incredible speed.”

Within days after the Haiti earthquake, H4O provided two water systems. H4O has funded and/or built water systems in Honduras, Indonesia, throughout Africa, Haiti, and now Pakistan.

H4O has grown from a start up led by three teenagers to a thriving organization with numerous members, local chapters in cities around the country and supporters worldwide. Utilizing Social Media, including Facebook and Twitter, and speaking throughout the nation has helped reach like-minded teenagers to join their efforts and get involved.

“We are very excited that we have made progress, but also by the speed with which we were able to secure funding for the water system in Pakistan is another example of what we can achieve if we really work together,” stated Scott Schurmer.

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Hands4Others (H4O) is a national non-profit led by teenagers and headquartered in Santa Barbara, with sub-chapters across the country. H4O partners with Water Missions International for the installation of each Living Water Treatment System, and they are also partnering with local and national corporate sponsors to raise funds, further their mission and spread the word.

For more information, to donate or get involved, please visit the H4O website or join them on Facebook and Twitter.