WATERisLIFE and Haiti

About six months ago I met a man named Ken Surritte.  We had connected a few times on Twitter, then decided to sit down and have coffee.  I had initiated the contact to share some ideas I had with Ken, but walked out of the coffee shop completely blown away by the passion and dedication to the cause he’s been given.  Ken has a “job”, or as would say, “something that puts the beans on the table.”  But what he “does” is an organization called WATERisLIFE.  Follow them on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook.  Ken started WiL 3 years ago, based here in OKC, after a trip to Nairobi, Kenya.  He saw that, even after drilling water wells, kids were still getting sick due to the fact that the “drinking fountain” at school was a stagnant pond.  Seeing a need for kids to have a way to get clean water at school, he came up with this incredible straw.  A straw that allows kids (or anybody) to drink from any water source, for one year.

By giving people clean water for one year, Ken and his team have time to come in, develop long-term water solutions and provide hygiene and sanitation assistance  in villages around the globe.  Here is their 3 step process.  Incredible.

Ken is headed to Haiti next week with a team to distribute straws and set up partnerships for future trips – trips that I’m hoping to be a part of.  I got to spend the afternoon with him, packing up boxes of straws – 3,000 are going on this trip and I believe that close to 10,000 are already on the ground.  The stuff that they are doing is really incredible and is going to change the world (that seems to be my new phrase) – they are currently in 27 countries.  Here’s the deal.  $10 gets a straw.  Gets somebody clean water for a year.  Whether they are drinking out of a toilet or a disease infested pond.  Clean.  $10.  Donate.  They are also in the midst of a one year campaign called “Change iT”, where they hope to raise $1 from each person for the year.  Seriously, just one dollar.  360 million Americans, $1 each. Game, changed.

Here is a video we shot yesterday before we got to work.  I’m no journalist, so don’t judge me.  In the video Ken talks about their plans for Haiti and some of the incredible things they are doing.  So check out the video, but more than anything, give.  Whether it is $10 or $1.  Also, check out this video of what the family of my friend Brad is doing for WATERisLIFE.  Beautiful stuff.