Many of the deadly diseases that afflict children in the developing world can be traced to unsafe water supplies.  Millions of people around the world do not have access to clean water day in and day out. When a catastrophe on the scale of the recent earthquake in Haiti comes along, thousands more are suddenly thrust into an environment where the water sources can be deadly.

As you know, the One5 Foundation has been working with orphans in Haiti for some time and was able to make a real difference for thousands of people after the earthquake struck in January. Because of our experience in Haiti, the One5 Foundation has been selected to demonstrate an innovative water pump that could help provide communities around the world with safe sources of water.

The hand-operated Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is manufactured by Gravitational Energy Corp. of Akron, Ohio. Representatives of the company and One5 Foundation will make public demonstrations at 7:30 and 11:30  a.m., Thursday, March 18 at Leawood City Park, Shelter C, 10601 Lee Blvd.

The device uses gravity (via a pendulum) to help the operator work, making it much less tiring than traditional lever-arm pumps.  It is designed for use in areas where there’s no access to fuel to operate motorized pumps.

Built into the machine is an Aquashield water filtration system that can produce more than 1,000 gallons per hour of clean drinking water, which meets or exceeds the World Health Organization standards.  Virtually any type of contaminated water source can be filtered to these standards.  It can also be set to produce 400-500 gallons per hour of hospital-grade pure water. Larger scale versions of the pump are under development.

This particular pump, the first one manufactured, is on its way to Haiti where it will be put into action by the end of this month, donated by Gravitational Energy.

The Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is the sort of invention that is desperately needed in Haiti and other developing countries. It allows people in specific communities the means to improve their lives dramatically, giving them a foundation of basic health. We hope that other charitable organizations will take notice and sponsor pumps in communities where there is a need.

As you probably know, our foundation embraces a holistic strategy in partnership with other organizations to address the basic needs of communities in the developing world –

housing, education, health care, nutrition and economic development. Countries can’t depend on international handouts if they are to pull themselves from poverty; they must learn how to do it themselves, once given the knowledge and tools

Because Nueterrra’s business is health care, our end of the bargain is to encourage our providers to donate their time, expertise and materials to directly tackle the health care needs in specific communities. Our partners build on their own areas of expertise to provide the housing, food and education needs.

In keeping with our health care expertise, we will be changing the name of our foundation from Integral Life Foundation to the One5 Foundation, which comes with the tagline, “One child, one world, five killers.” This refers to the five greatest killers of children in the developing world:

1. Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)
2. Diarrheal diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery)
3. Malaria
4. Infectious and parasitic diseases (measles, whooping cough, TB, worms)
5. HIV/AIDS

We believe the new name will more accurately portray our role in the overall philanthropic strategy – health care. We will help one child at a time to make this one world smaller by connecting them to the health care they need to avoid the five most deadly diseases in the world.

It is tragic that so many children in the world must succumb to these very treatable diseases. We think the new One5 Foundation will be more descriptive of our role so we can better tell our story to potential donors. Countries can only pull themselves from poverty once their basic needs are met, which include basic immunizations, food and clean water.

We continue to support the NCM-C3 Global Growth Fund to provide the financial means to help communities sustain the move from extreme poverty.

The name is changing but our commitment is unwavering.