Aquabox: Rapid Response for Safe Drinking Water

AquaboxImagine creating a plastic box that would serve a multifunctional purpose for disaster victims. Aquabox, a charitable company registered in England, provides boxes for water purification to dispatch to areas where severe disasters strike. The aftermath of a disaster can leave victims in desperate need of core necessities like food, water and shelter. One of the most urgent challenges for disaster relief agencies is getting fresh, clean drinking water to those victims. Sometimes polluted water is the only source of water. Waterborne contaminants can rapidly cause epidemics such as typhoid and cholera. Many of the outbreaks of disease and infection that result from drinking polluted water could often lead to dehydration and diarrhea, particularly striking the very young.

Aquabox is a robust plastic tank packed with water purification tablets and essential welfare items for a disaster situation. Once the welfare contents have been removed, each Aquabox can be used to purify up to 1100 liters of polluted water, making it safe and pleasant to drink. For example, 1100 liters is equal to 5,000 cups. This is enough safe drinking water for a family of four to consume 10 cups of water per day, for about four months.

This survival box is filled with welfare items such as warm clothing, kitchen utensils, hygiene items and other general hardware. The actual contents depend on the individual or organization that donated and filled the box. By the millennium, Aquabox provided more than 20,000 boxes covering over 30 countries. During the past several years, many aid agencies received and monitored boxes such as Children’s Aid Direct, Feed the Children, Christian African Relief Trust, Containers of Hope and Nottingham Police Aid Convoys.

Clean drinking water can mean the difference between life and death. In the wake of mammoth disasters, natural and manmade, Aquabox is dispatched to areas in dire need of safe drinking water. Under the provisions of their charitable status, Aquabox seeks a donation in return for the box rather than making an outright sale. Aquabox can play a vital part in minimizing the after effects of a disaster.