After months of training and preparation, Kilimanjaro climbers began their ascent of Africa's tallest (19,340-ft) mountain: Mt. Kilimanjaro. The reason? To raise awareness about the need for clean drinking water, as well as funds for clean water programs in the developing world.
The climbers spent time visiting a village near Arusha, Tanzania, where they saw, firsthand, the toll the global water crisis is taking on communities around the world, as well as the relief efforts being used to help. One clean water solution is the PUR sachet, which was developed by Procter & Gamble's PUR Water Filtration.Since 2004, PUR and the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) have worked together in an effort to prevent water-related diseases around the globe with the PUR sachet, which is a tiny packet of powder that can transform potentially deadly water into clean, drinkable water within 30 minutes, the company said.
“I went on this climb with the intention to bring awareness to the clean drinking water crisis,” said actress Jessica Biel. “Meeting the people and community in Tanzania, and seeing firsthand how just one PUR sachet can mean the difference between healthy water and contaminant laden water for an entire village has been an invaluable and eye-opening experience for me. My hope is that others will be inspired to find ways that they can help, starting simply in their homes and continuing to other parts of the world. We are all in this together.”
The climb -- which will benefit PUR Water Filtration's partner, the CSDW, among other clean water efforts -- was created by musician, Kenna, whose father nearly lost his life as a child after contracting a water-borne disease from drinking contaminated water.
Dr. Greg Allgood, director of the CSDW Program personally took the climbers on their village visit near Arusha, Tanzania.
"It was amazing seeing the reaction my fellow climbers had during their eye-opening visit to the village," Dr. Greg Allgood said. "There are 4,000 children who die every day from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water, a statistic that PUR and the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program have been working tirelessly to help address."
