12th January 2022
The Philippines has been devastated by Super Typhoon Rai. Aquabox is preparing to send a large consignment of water filters to Southern Leyte, one of the main affected areas, to help some of the 500,000 people in desperate need of clean drinking water.
Super Typhoon Rai recently hit the Visayas and Mindanao Islands in the Philippines leaving millions of people in need of assistance and approximately 520,000 without access to clean water and sanitation.
According to UNICEF, Typhoon Rai brought torrential rains, violent winds, landslides and storm surges which cut off water services and contaminated reservoirs and water sources. With water supply dwindling, there are now long queues at the few open water refilling stations.
Power has been down in almost all areas severely impacted by the disaster, affecting the operations of electricity-run water systems. In the outskirts of many town centres, people are reportedly collecting drinking water from springs, but potability of the water cannot be ascertained.
The Typhoon compromised access to safe water and sanitation facilities, heightening the risk of communicable disease outbreaks. Many affected people are now subsisting on springs and hand pumps for water, many of which are reported to have been contaminated by flood and sea waters. Many families whose homes have been totally or partially destroyed are reported to lack access to adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities and materials.
Aquabox is currently working with its partners in the Philippines to establish safe and secure distribution routes to the worst hit areas in Southern Leyte. We are planning to ship a combination of Family Filters and Community Filters. Our stock is ready for despatch once we are confident that proper and secure distribution routes are in place.
This shipment will provide clean water to over 7,000 people but we are expecting that it will cost us nearly £15,000. Thats just over £2 per person. Not bad, is it?
But we can’t do it without your help. It’s not just the cost of the water filters – the cost of airfreighting at the moment has increased considerably. It is nearly double what we used to be charged to send a shipment like this by airfreight, but it’s urgent, so we need to do it.
We rely entirely on donations and the fundraising activities of our supporters to fund our work. Run by volunteers (apart from a part-time depot manager), we have one of the lowest overhead costs in the sector, so you can rest assured that most of your donation will go towards providing clean water to those most in need.
Please help us. You can donate on this website, or alternatively using our JustGiving campaign at the link below: