Almost one billion people on our planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water, and proper sanitization. That’s one in every eight of us. 4,500 children die every day from diseases caused by contaminated water. That’s approximately one child every 15 seconds. Eighty percent of all global diseases are water-borne and result from drinking contaminated water, and studies show these diseases kill more than 2.2 million people every year. Seth Maxwell, founder of the Thirst Project, visited our Indianapolis office on March 27 to talk about how American Structurepoint and our Community Service Project can help solve these problems by providing the same quality water to people in Swaziland that our utility engineers work to bring to our clients in the US.

Since 2007, The Thirst Project has been perfecting its method of identifying communities in the developing world who need clean water and who are willing to commit to the necessary “sweat equity,” leadership development, and ongoing maintenance to get and keep a functional well near their homes. Now the organization has a huge goal: providing clean water for every citizen of Swaziland. The Thirst Project hopes that attaining this goal will provide “proof of concept” for the United Nations and other international organizations, inspiring them to replicate the project on a global level. Imagine the impact of cleaning up everyone’s water supply, eradicating water-borne diseases, and freeing women and children from the backbreaking work of hauling water, allowing them to get an education and earn an income. If you attended the Company Briefing in February, you may recall that American Structurepoint funded a well in Swaziland last year. We’ll be funding another well in 2013, doing our part to help reach this phenomenal goal.

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