February, 2013 –

This winter there are more Aqua Clara SAM (Sand and Membrane) units being installed in selected spots around the world.  This exceptional new technology, the way ACI has deployed it, means so many more people will now have their hopes fulfilled for clean water and healthier children who will not be subjected to debilitating diseases caused by contaminated water.

Tom Doane and Mark Wybenga are in the Dominican Republic installing SAM II units in two schools.  These units will provide at least 2,000 liters/day of clean water to the children and the staff.  They are then going to the northeastern part of Haiti to move a SAM II unit Tom and Harry Knopke previously installed at a mission—which has changed its purpose—to a new location where it will provide clean water for a village.

Teams from 20 Liters (Mars Hill Church) under the direction of Bob Johnson have made SAM III water purifiers for homes and by the end of this year will have distributed 3,000, making a huge difference in the lives of families that have known so much devastation and now have hope for a better tomorrow.  The SAM III unit sits on the counter in a household and can provide at least 250 liters/day of clean water.

In March, four schools in Assam, India will have their first water purifiers installed; these units will also remove arsenic, a major contaminant not only in their communities but in many parts of that country.  Harry Knopke is going to India to install these units, along with Arvind Pukhan, an eminent engineer and a board member of Rotary’s WASRAG. As part of this effort Harry will be training local Rotarians in the construction and management of these filter systems.

The Fifth Reformed Church of Grand Rapids is going to Yucatan once again at the beginning of March to install 35 SAM III units in homes and 2 SAM II units in schools.  Last year the Fifth Reformed team installed the first ACI SAM I unit in Yalcoba, Yucatan; Dale Spencer, ACI Director of Training, was part of that team and will be returning again as part of this year’s team.

Jason Brink, an engineer from Grand Rapids, and his colleagues are installing 50 SAM III units in Uganda February.  As part of this trip they will be doing a needs-assessment to determine potential uses for SAM II units in their target region.

Finally, in late January, ACI received a generous grant of $49,100 to install 10 SAM II units in nine schools and one university in Nicaragua.  These installations will be undertaken starting in late spring. We will share more information about this initiative as it progresses.