Historic Country-Wide Access to Clean Water Achieved for 50,000 Residents of the Marshall Islands

Washirika wanaoshirikiana ni pamoja na Kora huko Okrane (KIO), Mfuko wa Watoto wa Umoja wa Mataifa (UNICEF), Wizara ya Afya ya Visiwa vya Marshall, na Bidhaa za Sawyer.

SAFETY HARBOR, FL – July 11, 2023 – Partners from both the public and private sectors, announced today it has completed its goal of bringing access to clean drinking water, border-to-border, to nearly 50,000 residents of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Sawyer water filters, developed using advanced kidney dialysis filtration technology, were implemented as a low-cost solution across the country and brought to some of the most remote islands in the Pacific Ocean. The project was championed by the women’s lead nonprofit organization, Kora in Okrane (KIO), based locally in the Marshalls, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health.

"Mpango wa Marshall ni mfano wa jinsi mashirika yasiyo ya faida, serikali, na sekta binafsi yanaweza kujiunga na nguvu kuleta maji safi kwa nchi nzima inayohitaji," alisema Darrel Larson, mkurugenzi wa kimataifa wa Sawyer. "Visiwa vya Pasifiki vina maji mabaya zaidi duniani kwa kila mtu, na inaendelea kuwa mbaya zaidi. Ushirikiano huu ni ushahidi kwamba tunaweza kutatua masuala mengine ya upatikanaji wa maji, iwe katika Pasifiki ya Kusini au duniani kote."

Visiwa vya Marshall, mlolongo wa atolls kunyoosha kando ya maji ya bahari ya Pasifiki, kati ya Hawaii na Australia, imekuwa rangi kama ardhi-zero kwa mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa na, na tu kuhusu wageni 6,000 kwa mwaka, nchi ya dunia isiyotembelewa zaidi duniani. Wakati viwango vya bahari vinavyoongezeka vinaweza kuwa uharibifu wa Marshallese, wataalamu wa hali ya hewa wanatabiri visiwa vitakoma kuwepo katika takriban miaka 80. Maji safi na salama ni ufunguo wa kuhakikisha utamaduni wao unaishi.

"Kama shirika la kujitolea, tumefanya kazi kwa bidii sana, pamoja na washirika wetu, kuleta maji safi kwa baadhi ya jamii zilizotengwa zaidi ulimwenguni. Ni vigumu kuweka katika maneno nini upatikanaji wa umuhimu huu wa maisha ina maana kwetu na watu, hasa wanawake, na watoto wa Visiwa vya Marshall, "alisema Angeline Heine-Reimers, Rais wa Kora katika Okrane (KIO). "Kama nchi ndogo ya chini, tunaendelea kupambana na mgogoro wa hali ya hewa unaozidi kuwa mbaya. Lazima tuchukue hatua muhimu kuhakikisha watu wetu wana zana za kuwasaidia kukabiliana na changamoto hizi. Na huanza na upatikanaji wa maji safi."

All of Sawyers’ clean water work projects feature its high-performance 0.1-micron absolute hollow fiber membrane filter which removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera, and E. coli, 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium, and 100% of microplastics.

Sawyer’s award-winning water filter technology has been implemented in 100+ countries to combat waterborne diseases, the leading cause of death for children in the world today. In 2020, with the help of Sawyer filters, Liberia became the first developing country with clean water, border to border. In addition to the completion of the Marshall Islands project, Sawyer is on track to complete country-wide initiatives in Fiji in 2024, and in Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of roughly 80 islands, in 2025. For Sawyer, this milestone marks clean water solutions for four countries in five years. The global water work is funded by 90% of Sawyer’s proceeds and helps 27+ million lives in 100+ countries.

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