U.S. Navy's Project Handclasp Delivers Hydraid® Water Filters to Needy Families Facing Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Triple Quest, the international distributor of the Hydraid® BioSand water filter, today announced the U.S. Navy's delivery of 150 Hydraid water filters and a fully equipped mobile medical clinic to cholera-stricken Haiti.  The delivery, made by the high-speed vessel Swift, marks the launch of Project Handclasp, a relief program that is part of the Navy's Southern Partnership Station 2011 humanitarian deployment.  It also brings to 1,000 the number of Hydraid filters made available to Haiti during 2010, fulfilling a commitment made by Triple Quest and Cascade Engineering, the filter's manufacturer.  

Project Handclasp accepts and transports educational, humanitarian and goodwill material overseas on a space-available basis in U.S. Navy ships. Materials are distributed directly to needy recipients by U.S. service personnel stationed in overseas areas or embarked in U.S. Navy ships that visit these areas.  Haiti continues to battle a waterborne cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 1,700 lives since late October; the epidemic follows the devastation caused by January's earthquake that killed 250,000 people and left 1.3 million homeless.

"Our work with the Hydraid® team to bring the filter to Haiti is having a truly life-saving impact," said Paul Brown, director of Project Handclasp.  "The clean water is already improving the health of suffering Haitian families." The 150 water filters were donated by Safe Water Team, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide health and hope to the rural poor in developing countries through clean, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education.

"People here are dying from waterborne diseases every day, so we are very thankful to our American counterparts for assisting us in trying to solve this problem and improve the health of the Haitian people," said Dr. Philippe Avril, Special Projects Coordinator for Pure Water for the World-Haiti Project.

Triple Quest teams with NGOs such as Pure Water for the World, Thirsting to Serve, HHOP and Safe Water Team as well as socially responsible corporations such as Amway and Dow to bring the Hydraid® BioSand water filter into needy communities such as those in Haiti.

"We have found we can be successful in savings lives when we work together with many different organizations, each with their own unique and broad sphere of influence," said Christina Keller of Triple Quest and the Hydraid® BioSand Water Filter.  "Our studies show that the filter is improving the health of the families using it, as a part of an overall program of hygiene and sanitation."

Designed and manufactured for Triple Quest by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Cascade Engineering, the Hydraid filters are simple, lightweight units with no moving parts.  The filters combat the leading causes of death and disease in the developing world by reducing parasites, bacteria and viruses found in contaminated water.  Users can reduce contaminants by pouring surface or ground water through the filter to obtain water that is safe for drinking, food preparation, personal hygiene and sanitation. With no parts to replace, the Hydraid® BioSand Filter is extremely durable and lasts beyond 10 years, making it the most sustainable filter available today.

The filter is just one way Triple Quest, one of the Cascade Engineering family of companies, is reaching out to communities with products that are both sustainable and affordable.

Triple Quest would like to hear from you or your organization regarding your interest in getting more filters to the families that need them urgently.  Please contact Christina Keller at 616-975-4844 or [email protected].

To donate or learn more about the Hydraid® BioSand Water Filter, please visit  http://www.hydraid.org.  

SOURCE Triple Quest