Solution Discussion

     Of the many water organizations dedicated to helping countries in need (specifically Africa), at least half of them have part of their program focused on improving, repairing, or installing new wells to help the people of Africa. One organization, Water Wells For Africa, installs merry-go-round style wells near schools that also provide water for nearby communities and families. Along with installing and maintaining the wells, they have also developed a low cost, easy to use filtration and purifying system. Their purifying system involves putting water into clear plastic water bottles and leaving them in the sun for at least six hours of direct sunlight or two days of cloudy weather. However, this method will not work if the water is murky, as the UV rays will not be able to get through to the deadly microbes.
     To fix this problem, Kurt Dahlin, the CEO and president of WWFA, developed another method to filter the water: the TRUSTED Water Filter. This filter involves cutting the bottom off of a plastic water bottle, and inverting it to make a funnel. The bottom of the funnel is then filled with a layer of cotton, a layer of pea-sized bits of charcoal (with any white ash being rinsed off), and another layer of cotton with a small stone on top to keep the charcoal from floating. Murky water is then poured through the filter into another clear plastic bottle, and miraculously comes out crystal clear. The water in these clear plastic bottles can then be purified using the solar method. The cost for the wells that Water Wells for Africa installs to start the process are a mere 4,000 dollars each, which is considerably less than wells from different organizations. The filter and purification systems are also very low cost, as they use materials that can be found in most rural African Villages. WWFA takes donations through PayPal and checks on their website, but also have another way of raising money. Ralph’s Grocery Corporation has partnered with WWFA, and has vowed that any person who registers with Ralph’s Community Contribution will give 4% of every purchase at a Ralph’s store to the WWFA Organization. Ralph’s Grocery Corporation include stores such as Fred Meyers, Krogers, and just plain Ralph’s stores. Also, because WWFA is a non-profit organization, any donation made to them is tax deductible. This solution, especially with this organization, is the clearly the best solution because of the people it will help, how inexpensive their methods are, and how easy it is to donate to their cause.