Derbyshire-based charity Aquabox is gearing up to send water filters and aid to victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Its volunteers are working hard to respond to the natural disaster and already have 300 units ready to send out. The charity is now working with international partners to establish secure access routes and is calling on the generous British public to help fund its invaluable work.
Established in 1992, Aquabox offers displaced people the gift of safe clean drinking water and humanitarian aid. The charity has so far sent more than 110,000 aid boxes to disaster zones and conflict areas around the world. Its ultra-filtration hand pumps convert polluted water into clean, safe water for drinking, cooking and washing.
The World Health Organisation estimates that the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have killed 47,000 people and left 26 million people in urgent need of assistance. When disasters strike, there is an urgent need to provide safe drinking water as supplies are damaged and contaminated with water from sewage and drains.
Aquabox filters remove all common pathogens, including cholera, typhoid, polio, dengue fever and other water-borne diseases. The charity is now working closely with fellow charities and distribution partners to open up safe access routes into Turley and Syria and set up reliable distribution networks.
The team is exploring the option of sending an initial consignment of aid by land into Eastern Turkey. It is also working with an NGO to send a container of aid to Syria.
Roger Cassidy, Chairman of Aquabox, said: “We have been working very hard getting consignments ready. It is estimated that there are 700,000 displaced people in Turkey alone and they desperately need a way of accessing safe drinking water. Each of our family filters will meet the daily water needs of up to 10 people and will go on working for months if not years. The disaster is on such a large scale that we foresee many more shipments over the next 6 months and will be very grateful for any donations received.”
Aquabox relies entirely on donations and fundraising activities to support its work. With the help of donors, it aims to reach its target of providing sufficient filters to dispense water to 100,000 people per year by 2025.
