“Changing Lives with Water”
January 26, 2010: Today, we were addresses by Brad Reed and Mike Dickerman of Water Missions International and the Rotarian Peru Project. Mr. Brad Reed began leading Water Mission International (WMI) as President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2006. Before joining WMI, Mr. Reed was Executive Vice President and General Manager of Celgard, a global manufacturing company. In this role, he managed global Sales and Marketing, Research and Development, Manufacturing, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Operations. Mr. Reed holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.
Mr. Reed began his presentation with an overview of WMI’s Haiti relief efforts. Currently, eleven of the twelve water systems have been installed in Port-au-Prince, while ten systems await deployment from Guantanamo Bay, ten in Miami and ten on a truck en route to Miami. Mr. Reed noted these water systems would not have been possible without the support of Mayor Joe Riley and the local community.
In addition to their extraordinary efforts in Haiti, WMI is working with the Rotary Club of Daniel Island and the Rotary Club of Charleston to provide safe water systems for six communities in the Belen Slums of Iquitos, Peru. Packed in a large container, the Living Water™ Treatment Systems were shipped December 12, 2009 from Charleston, SC and will arrive in February 2010. While in Peru, the volunteer Rotarians will spend time helping to install water systems, as well as joining Amazon Expeditions, an ecotourism company, which raises awareness as well as funding for the surrounding community.
Mr. Mike Dickerman, the co-founder of Amazon Expeditions, was raised by missionaries in Columbia and has spent nearly twenty years in the South American rain forest. Although he moved from South America to the U.S. in 1997 to further his education, Mr. Dickerman returned ten years later with his wife and started the Amazon Expeditions in 2006. Amazon Expedition’s mission is to provide opportunity and promote conservation through partnerships with local communities and organizations. They focus on these key elements: fostering environmental sustainability & preservation through conservation programs with the local rain forest communities, creating economic opportunity by involving the local community in the day-to-day operations of our lodge, an helping develop and achieve sustainable community development programs specifically designed to empower small communities to thrive in an ever-changing world.
The Amazon Jungle Lodge, Palo Verde Lodge (located fifty miles south of Iquitos Perú) offers authentic yet comfortable bungalow accommodations deep in the heart of the Amazon Jungle. The volunteer Rotarians will be able to not only live in the Amazon but work with WMI to provide health and hope for the future of its inhabitants. Both Mr. Reed and Mr. Dickerman discussed the global water crisis. The statistics are astounding. One out of every eight people in the world, roughly 884 million, lacks access to safe water. (WHO/UNICEF) and at least 2.6 billion people do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. (UN WATER). 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day, one every 20 seconds. (UNDP)
Reported by Teal Van Saun, Keyway Committee