“I have had the opportunity to test the hollow fiber membrane filters in a variety of settings in rural East and West Africa, including NGOs, health clinics and local households. The results have been both promising and impressive. I have little doubt that this simple, cost-effective technology can play an important role in enhancing much needed access to clean, safe water in developing areas of the world.”
Give Clean Water-Fiji 
In 2008 Give Clean Water set their initial focus on the country of Fiji. Since that time they have installed over 1000 filters in individual homes and schools in the Ba and Nadi area of Fiji giving the gift of clean water to an estimated 4000 individuals. Additionally, each filter recipient is educated on the dangers of drinking bacteria filled water as well how to use and maintain the filter. Give Clean Water employs local Fijians to assist with the survey and implementation of the filters as well as conducting follow ups with each family to ensure proper use and functionality of the filter. Give Clean Water takes teams to Fiji in April, July and October of each year to assist in the installation of filters and be a part of this amazing project. Please visit their website at GiveCleanWater.com for more information.
Global Aid International Network-Zimbabwe
KADOMA AND CHEGUTU WATER FILTER DISTRIBUTION
Located in the Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe, the town of Kadoma is home to a population of approximately 81,000 people. Rimuka, a high density location in the town where almost a quarter of the population lives, was hit the hardest by the Cholera outbreak.
Coupled with other problems, the erratic supply of water was the main cause of the epidemic. The town council has not been able to give a regular supply of clean water for a protracted period, causing people to resort to digging wells in some areas where the water is not safe for consumption. The sewer system has not been properly functional for months; raw sewage flowing in the streets by the road sides has become a common sight.
With the help a pastor who leads a growing congregation in the Westview suburbs, Pastor Chiweda, we managed to make contact with other local pastors. Through them we were able to reach out to the community after they mobilized their church members to come for water filter donations. We were able to distribute 110 water filters in Kadoma.
The distribution enabled to set up a platform to share our ministry vision for the nation. The local pastors in Kadoma pledged their support for the ministry in partnerships.
CHEGUTU
Chegutu is located about 107km from Harare in Mashonaland West Province. With a population of under 50,000, the town has a higher number of Cholera casualties than Kadoma. Coupled with prolonged power cuts, the erratic supplies of clean water made it difficult to control and contain the Cholera epidemic.
With the assistance of Pastor Chiweda from Kadoma, we were able to contact 17 churches in Chegutu through their pastors. We were privileged to work with Pastor Nyikadzino of Banarbas Christian Family Centre, who had been previously involved with LIFE ministry on other occasions. This encouraged other pastors to go on the drawing board and see how they can be more involved with LIFE Ministry.
We managed to distribute 80 water filters and it was such a blessing to see how the people were overwhelmed with such a timely gift.
One of the beneficiaries was Mrs. Margaret Mhidza, who lives in the nearby communal lands in Chegutu. She’s one of the people who had been directly affected by the Cholera epidemic. Her grandson she was living with caught the deadly disease, and unfortunately lost his life. One of the local pastors called her in to receive this donation when he learnt of her misfortune. Her gratitude and appreciation for the gift was undoubted, as she thanked the ministry for helping her prevent another member of her family from becoming a Cholera statistic.
Nigel Mudavanhu of Royal Priesthood Church, could not wait to get home after receiving the water filter – his son was, at that very moment, ill, lying in bed after contracting Cholera. He said that he prayed this timely gift would help speed up the recovery of his 8-year old boy, and prevent anyone else from his family from falling victim to the deadly disease. He thanked LIFE Ministry for the donation which could not have come at a better time.
AM International - Guatemala
Here in Guatemala drinking bottled, or purified, water is a must. The public water is not treated enough to be considered safe to drink. However, many people cannot afford to always drink "agua pura". Many people think that when you live here and drink the water you build up immunities. This is not true. You may build some resistance to some things, but you do not become immune. That is why many, many people here have chronic intestinal issues. Many people, usually children, die from water borne illnesses every year.
I recently received 10 filtration kits from a donor in the US and am amazed by the capabilities of this small, simple kit. I have used some older systems using ceramic candles, which work well, but the candles are fragile and need to be replaced over time, and are fairly expensive. This new system, with occasional cleaning will last for years and years. It removes 99.9999% of bacteria that causes illness and assembles in less than two minutes using a five gallon plastic bucket.
Eluvia Cortez is one of the women we selected to receive a filter. She lives in one room with her sister, and her daughter of seven months, Biberly. Eluvia comes from Jutiapa, in the Eastern part of Guatemala and has lived in the capital for several years. About two months ago she lost her job and has not been able to find another one yet. The economy is terrible here, and seems to be hardest on the poorest. She cried as she explained how she tries to buy bottled water to wash her baby’s bottles and to make formula when she has work to go to. But she can't always because she doesn't have any money. When I explained this system will filter the water and she will no longer have to purchase bottled water, she began to cry and for about 10 minutes could not even talk. She says she is grateful from the bottom of her heart, because this is a gift of life for her and her family.
Another amazing thing for me was the recognition we are gaining there in these neighborhoods. In two houses we entered, the people knew of me before we arrived! I entered one home and introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Mike." She said to me "Hermano Mike? The hermano Mike that helps the kids at Casita Benjamin?" Instantly, the mood changed in the home. We were quickly welcomed inside, and they went from being wary, to bright eyed, smiles and you could feel hope, trust and expectation of something good.
This, to me, was one of the biggest highlights of my time here in Guatemala! I have been trying to get into this neighborhood for two years, now I am finding credibility and trust from the people there. God is doing great things, and there are many more great things to come!
Agua Con Bendiciones - Honduras
Water filter distribution in Tagucigalpa, Honduras
Agua con Bendiciones mission is to provide clean water to those who lack it…especially families with young children. They specifically target women and empower them as family and community leaders, so they are able to provide clean and safe water for their family as well as their neighbors. The unique approach they take has been extremely successful in creating community acceptance of Sawyer’s pointONE Filters™.
How they do it
Each water project starts with a community meeting led by a representative from Agua con Bendiciones. At this meeting the importance of clean water and the expectations for the program are discussed. Next, women from the community are selected to participate. These women are grouped in “ministry circles” that consist of 10-15 people. The expectations of the ministry are as follows:
A ministry led by women. All women must expect to participate in a ministerial capacity: sharing the pure water, teaching clean water habits to their families and neighbors. The ministry will begin with a group of ten women. If it is successful during a six month trial period (all systems maintained and correctly used) then the program will be expanded, according to purchasing and training capacity. During the first 6 months, the systems are the property of the community. Personal ownership of the filtration is awarded based on successful participation, after a 6 month trial. One woman will be chosen as the group leader with the following responsibilities: 1. Motivator/Animator 2. Visit the systems and review their use. 3. Be available for concerns. 4. In concert with the community’s pastoral leadership, make decisions as to removal of systems if they are not being maintained.All participants must attend training. In special circumstances, they may be represented by their husband or a mature daughter/son. They must still meet at a later point with the trainer, to review and sign the contract.
How it's going
To date Agua con Bendiciones has trained over 60 women to use Sawyer pointONE Filters™ and these women have successfully been filtering water for their family members and their neighbors since February, 2009. The first group that was trained has already completed the 6 month trial and a special “graduation ceremony" was held for them. All ten were reported to be using the systems correctly, and to be generous in sharing the clean water with their neighbors. There was a high degree of excitement and celebration, especially when we declared these systems to now be the personal property of this first group of women. In fact, one woman who was in the first "circle" has already begun assisting with training other participants. This is a critical aspect of the program: that local women themselves become trainers, so the ministry is self-sustainable.
Agua con Bendiciones is partnering with multiple Catholic and United Methodist churches in the US to make this possible.
Luke's Mission- Haiti 
Water Filter Distribution in Belbede, Haiti
Luke's Mission (LM) based in Durham, NC recently return from their second trip to Belbede, Haiti where they were able to follow up with 60 families that received Sawyer filters in April, 2009. While there they also were able to install and additional 36 filters.
On the first trip, LM provided training on how to install and use the filtration system to a group of 60 women. The women brought their own buckets to transport the unfiltered water in and received a clean bucket for the filtered water as well as PointONE Filter. Almost one year later, over 1,500 people now have access to clean water.
According to April Perry, executive director of LM, the pastor in the
village described the general health of the community as much improved
and the effect of the filters on the health of the community as HUGE.
In general, he said the mothers rarely report diarrhea in their
children now where as prior to receiving the filters, they had it
several times a week. This household based system is as effective, simple and cost efficient as it gets states April Perry. Families will be able to construct and adapt their filter in literally minutes to locally found containers. Equally important, maintenance is a very simple process. When the filter starts to slow down or clog, simply back wash it with clean water using the cleaning device provided in the kit.
During our time in Haiti we used the system to filter our own drinking water from the river. Having us drink the water demonstrated in a strong way to the people how confident we were in this filtration process. We encountered no problems as a result of drinking this water after it had been filtered—something we would never have even considered prior to the trip. We will no longer have to transport our own drinking water when we visit this remote village.
We are grateful to Sawyer for developing these filters and for making it affordable for the poorest of the poor to now have access to clean water.
His Servants Ministries - Burma November 3rd - 10th
As you know recently our organization had an opportunity to serve the refugees along the Thai border with Myanmar (Burma) for one week providing general medical, optometric, and dental care. With about 20 people we set out daily to not only help directly on the short term with their needs, but also in training locals in basic dental care and extraction throughout the week. As such, we had significant water requirements and equipment requirements both being fairly weighty. The pointONE Filter™ allowed us daily to get as much water as needed for the day’s planned dental requirements and dietary needs right there near the village as opposed to having to cart it all in from town, which saved us greatly on work. After a week of filtering water out of a silt laden river which traveled through countless rice fields where endemic dysenteric diseases like typhoid, amebiasis, and numerous flukes are found, we were able to not only train a new team of eager extractors but also provide care for almost 1000 people while staying healthy ourselves the entire time. Thanks again.
Christian Blind Mission - Kenya January 2009
Greetings from Kenya. I work for CBM (Christian Blind Mission) in Arsim Samburu as a program manager for Samburu water sanitation and disease control program.
Our main focus is development of water to assist prevent the blinding Trachoma, which is a high risk and a threat to the Samburu communities living in Northern Kenya. This disease is associated with the poor and people with low hygiene practices and the final effects are total and irreversible blindness at an old age. The disease can be prevented by having water to clean children’s faces hence break the active stage of the bacterial infection at early age.
I have found the filters to be very useful and equally important because the Samburu are nomadic people living together with their livestock in the same homestead making the water they drink not clean. We feel great to partner with you more today and in the future to provide clean and safe water to these needy and unfortunate disadvantaged poor Samburu people. They are poor with resources and behind in development but very rich with their natural culture & heritage. Please welcome to Samburu land and come visit us any time you wish because Samburu's are very kind and hospitable people.
Regards.
Life in Abundance - Sudan
The chairman of our Board of Directors was so intrigued by the simplicity and sustainability of the pointONE filter™ that he purchased five for us to ‘test’ in our programs throughout East Africa. Water-borne disease is one of the biggest challenges facing the poor in communities where we work. So far, we have been tremendously impressed with the water quality afforded by the pointONE filter™. In fact, our country offices in Ethiopia just requested that we provide 15 for them to use throughout the country. LIA International is serving to empower the poor by building the capacity of local churches to meet the needs of their neighbors. Thank you for creating sustainable and effective tools for us to use in this urgent endeavor.
Sincerely,