Last of two parts
The first part can be viewed at thevoice.us/non-profit-givepower-brings-water-to-residents-in-africa-asia
Clean water often has been referred to as “Blue Gold” and it certainly deserves such a title. Business Insider included the following article written by Morgan McFall-Johnsen. Here is part two in which individuals in Africa and Asia pay one-quarter of a cent for every four cups of water.
“As sea levels rise, scientists expect salt water to infiltrate more fresh water sources in coastal areas. That situation isn’t hypothetical in Kiunga: An ongoing drought that began in 2014 has forced residents to drink from salt water wells, even though doing so can cause kidney failure, according to GivePower, a non-profit organization.
“Kiunga resident Mohammed Atik said in a promotional video about the GivePower project that the ‘salt water from the wells are not treated,’ which is why using it can lead to health issues.
“‘It was a really dire situation for this community,’ Barnard said. ‘Children walk around the community with wounds — lesions on their bodies from washing clothes in salt water.’
“As GivePower’s first project, the Kiunga facility cost $500,000 to build and took a month to construct. The organization hopes to generate $100,000 per year from the system, and use that to provide funds for facilities in other places. Barnard’s goal is to cut the construction cost down to $100,000 per plant in the future.
“‘We hope that one of these systems pay for another additional sister system every five years,’ he said.
“For now, the funding has come from corporate and private donations, along with a few corporate grants, including a $250,000 grant from Bank of America last year.
“GivePower’s solar desalination project in Kiunga, Kenya cost about $500,000 to construct.
“In the future, Barnard envisions smaller, modular-style solar desalination units that would use a single pump and a 15-kilowatt solar grid with three Tesla batteries. GivePower could combine the systems ‘like Legos’ to scale up, Barnard said.
“His team is already working on its next projects, in Haiti’s Isle de la Gonâve and Mombasa, Kenya. Barnard wants those facilities to be up and running by the end of the year. GivePower is scouting a site in Colombia for a similar future project.
“In all of these places, one of GivePower’s major challenges is establishing systems for distributing the fresh water that the plants create. Barnard hopes local people and organizations at each site will volunteer to distribute water, and nearby hospitals, schools, or hotels will pay to take several thousand liters each day. He hopes some business-minded locals will buy the water and resell it in other towns.
“‘I want to create a system of water women, like there were milkmen in the 1960s,’ Barnard said. ‘It sounds funny, but water is a women’s issue.’
“He added that the desalination plant has already spurred new economic activity in Kiunga. A group of women there started a freshwater clothes-washing business, Barnard said, and one man fills a tank with the water and drives it to nearby communities to sell.
‘“How awesome would it be if the women could make money off this water and their daughters are sitting in the classroom?’” Barnard said.