Newsletter  
January 2016



Clean Water to the Masses 
19-year-old Alexander Anderson, has a Masters in Engineering from Washington State University.  For the past two years, through WASRAG he has developed tactical designs and plans to bring clean water and power to the people in Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea. Articles in the The Lewiston Tribune and The Seattle Times describe Anderson's passion. He said it's exciting to have an idea that when implemented can improve someone's life.  
  


4th Annual WASH Conference
Rotary Districts 5450 and 5440 are hosting their 4th Conference in Denver with the theme Holistic WASH: Transforming a  Generation. The all-day conference on March 19, 2016 has the objective "to equip participants to create effective and sustainable WASH projects and identify potential partnerships with other institutions." 
 
Participants at last year's symposium, from across the nation, gave high marks for the quality of the presentations.  For more information visit: 4th Annual WASH Conference 


Global Grant Brings Safe Water to Fiji
The annual rainfall in Fiji ranges from 100 inches on the coast to over 200 inches in the mountains. The frequent heavy downpours in the wet season (Jan - Mar) cause issues with bacteria and other toxins in the drinking water.
 
Two Rotary clubs in San Diego and one in Fiji, used a Rotary Foundation Global Grant to provide safe water to seven villages.
 
Using a unique micropore filter, the Safe Water Stations provide a sustainable solution that requires no electricity and has no moving parts. 
 
For $137 a family can have clean water for 10 years. 
 
To read more about this Global Grant success story, visit  Micropore Safe Water Solution 
 


WASH has Positive Impact on Nutrition 
Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene has a positive impact on nutrition according to growing evidence, described in a 58 page document recently released jointly by WHO, UNICEF and USAID. 
 
A copy of the document can be downloaded at:


Ganges River Clean Water Project 
Over 40% of the people of India obtain their drinking water from the Ganges River, even though, the river is considered to be one of the most polluted rivers in the world.  
 
The Rotary Club of Crofton, MD is partnering with others to develop a water testing and training center at the head waters of the Ganges. 

The ambitious and important project ( . . . Read More


Toilet Turns Waste into Water
A cheap, easy to maintain toilet that uses no water, turns human waste into electricity,
 
Funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. The nano membrane toilet is to be trialed and tested in 2016, possibly in Ghana. 
 
More than 2.3 billion people don't have access to a safe, private toilet. Organizations around the world are working to solve this problem. High-tech solutions, such as adding solar panels, are usually too expensive to be practical. 
 
An article on the "Nano Membrane Toilet" in Gizmag.com provides an overview of this technology. ( . . . Read More )



WASH Challenges caused by Disaster 
In November and December, the city of Chennai, India experienced record-breaking rainfalls that caused short and long term water, sanitation and hygiene challenges.
 
A WASRAG member reports on how urban development over the past few decades magnified the problem that caused 400 deaths, millions homeless, spread of (. . . Read More)
  


Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in the News
Read news media articles about the work Rotary is doing around the world in the areas of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. 




Calendar of Events
February 25 - 26, 2016 - Kathmandu, Nepal
Multiple-Use Water Systems (MUS) for Climate Resilience
     musgroup.net

March 11 - 13, 2016 - Kolkata, India
Literacy and WASH in Schools Presidential Conference

March 18 - 19, 2016 - Pasay City, Philippines
WASH in Schools

March 19, 2016 - Denver, USA  
A Rotary sponsored WASH conference to create more effective and sustainable projects.

April 28 - May 1, 2016  - Yipsilanti, USA
A vision for Clean Water and Eastern Michigan's Sanitation Workshop

May 27, 2016 - Seoul, Korea
Held in conjunction with the Rotary International Conference

July 11 - 15, 2016 - Kumasi, Ghana
39th WEDC International Conference: Ensuring Availability & Sustainable Management of Water & Sanitation for All      

August 9 -13, 2016 - Brisbane, Australia
World Water Congress and Exhibition 
     
 

New Projects...
We love hearing about your projects and are delighted to relay these great opportunities for Rotarians to get involved in WASH projects! 

When posting your projects on the wasrag.org website, please remember to include the name of your Rotary club and District number.
 
Contact us at info@wasrag.org if you need help with your posting.   We have writers ready to help tell your story!

Wasrag needs your membership.
Membership revenue helps cover our administrative costs, website upgrades, training, development of support materials etc. To check whether your membership has expired, email

To become a member,  simply click on the button.


To submit stories and pictures our Newsletter, please email: info@wasrag.org to the attention of Wasrag newsletter editors Ian Rumbles and Terri Black.
 

*The Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (Wasrag) is pleased to consider partnerships with any corporate supporter. Due to the unique attributes of water sources and water provision, acceptance of corporate support does not imply an endorsement of any particular water technology. Rotarians, Rotary clubs, and Rotary partners must evaluate any technology to determine if it is the best solution for the conditions where the program will be implemented. Wasrag can provide guidance about where different technologies work best, but Rotarians and Rotary clubs must make the final decision about how to implement their programs.

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The Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group is a group of Rotarians whose purpose is to support Rotary clubs to effectively plan, finance, implement, monitor and evaluate water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, where they are most needed in a collaborative, cost-effective, timely, and sustainable manner, true to the principles of Rotary International. Wasrag operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International.