In collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), P&G has developed a low-cost technology called PUR (Purifier of Water), to purify even heavily contaminated drinking water so that it meets World Health Organization standards for safe drinking water. The YWCA is currently partnering with P&G and Population Services International to pilot a safe drinking water programme in Kenya.

Studies show that the PUR sachets can reduce diarrhea illness in children up to 50 percent. Read other stories on the use of PUR in the field.

Inspired by the Women of YWCA

Today I’m meeting with Judith Apiyo Ayieko of the YWCA Kisumu. We’re headed out of Kisumu just a few miles to see one of the YWCA groups that have recently started using PUR. More about this later -- let me give you some background on how we came to work with the YWCA.

I had the honor last year to update some of our P&G retired officers and their spouses on our Children’s Safe Drinking Water program. I showed them the PUR demo and told them about both our emergency relief and social market work.

Francie Pepper, the wife of (and driving force behind) former CEO John Pepper, was particularly interested in whether we’d tried to provide PUR through women’s groups. I told Francie, yes, we’d starting doing that in Kenya through the SWAP group and went into some detail about Jemima and her work. Francie listened carefully and then told me that the YWCA might be another way to enlist women’s groups in the effort. She has worked with the YWCA and volunteered to introduce me to Musimbi Kanyoro, the General Secretary of the in Geneva.World YWCA

I met Musimbi in Geneva in a meeting arranged and attended by my P&G External Relations colleagues and friends, John Tracey and Nada Dugas. John will retire soon, and he’s been my closest P&G ally in building the relationship with WHO and other Geneva-based groups. I owe him a lot and will miss him. Nada has an amazing network of influential women that is proving to be a help to our program, most relevant now with Musimbi.

Musimbi entered and marched right up to me and gave me a big hug and said, “My village in Kenya is using PUR and I want to thank you.” I have to tell you that I was speechless by this greeting from the distinguished leader of the global YWCA. I didn’t even know that Musimbi was Kenyan much less that her people were in an area reached by our small demonstration project with SWAP.

It was a great start to a productive meeting. To fast-forward several months, I’m now meeting with Judith to get an update on the pilot program with YWCA Kenya. The PUR Water Filtration business in the U.S. has donated funds that allow us to jump-start sales by local women’s groups within the YWCA. In fact, we’re reaching 18 different women’s groups within the Nyanza region during this pilot. Each group receives 5 cartons or more than 1,000 sachets. When the groups sell this product, they’ll make some profit and also have the funds to purchase their next allotment at low cost.

I’ve got to tell you I’m tired today. The commute with CARE to Bondo and the past three days in the field have left me a bit weary. But it’s important for me to understand this effort by YWCA, and Judy seems very positive about their initial experience with PUR. So, I tell myself to just suck it up.

We turn off the main road onto a dirt road and wind our way through a few small farming communities. We then reach Orongo and the Orongo Widows and Orphans Group. As soon as we depart our truck, we’re ushered into Hope Nursery School and are greeted by a group of about 45 orphans and 3 volunteer teachers. We are treated to a nice song by the young children.

I’m greeted by Florence Guido who is wearing a cheerful, bright red dress. It isn’t long before I’m encouraged to call her “Mama Orongo.” I see she’s a respected Mama to this community. It’s clear she loves these children who are not her own.

I meet little Alex, who has been with them for a year. He was abandoned in a nearby hospital and was like a skeleton when Mama Orongo and her group began to care for him. I play with Alex, now a healthy, happy boy in a loving environment.

The group is eager to tell me about their work with PUR. Florence starts by saying, “I’m praising this work with PUR.” They used an elegant strategy to introduce PUR to the community by starting with a presentation to the local chief and council. Then they began sharing it with local groups. They work directly with a wide variety of groups including a youth group that plays basketball and has helped build awareness of PUR as they travel to away-games, an adult education group, and a group that provides support for 56 people living with HIV/AIDS.

Florence says, “The people think that PUR is really good.” She says they are happy because they can use it to make their water clear and it has no bad smell. “People really like PUR a lot and they want more, more, and more of it.” She said that they’ve even had to restrict sales at this point until they get some more.

Most people collect water from the irrigation ditches that run through this low land. They show me these ditches and we collect water from them. This area floods frequently during the rainy season and the ditches have some water in them almost all the time.

The irrigation ditch water is heavily contaminated, but Florence tells me that the people think it tastes “sweet,” particularly when it's treated with PUR, and much better than the salty water in the few wells in the area.

We treat enough for everyone to enjoy a glass of clean, safe drinking water. It’s fun to enjoy the company of these people, and I realize my weariness has faded.

As we walk through the grounds, I notice how people wash their hands. I ask Florence to show me, and she looks at me like I’m a bit daft. They have two different inventions that are highly conservative of water. I’m thinking about our experiences yesterday and the concern that the Majiwa Primary School had with our hand washing intervention. I tell Florence that she’s teaching me something very important.

They call these hand washing inventions “Tip Top.” The first one is a 1-liter plastic jug that you turn upside down so that the reservoir of the handle of the jug fills with water. A small stream of water then flows out through a hole that has been drilled in the handle. The soap is handily put on the same rope as the jug. It works wonderfully!

The second one uses the vacuum created by the closed screw cap on a plastic 2-liter bottle. Unscrew the cap and a small stream of water flows through the bottom so you can wash your hands. Close the cap and the water quickly stops. Brilliant!! We’ve found something in this community that we hadn’t thought of in our planning for the pilot program with CARE, but now we can quickly reapply it.

Our visit is nearly over because they have a neighboring group visiting later today for training. They show me their small shop where they sell soap, homeopathic medicines, necklaces made out of old calendars, tea, porridge, and now PUR. It’s clear from the sales data they share with me that PUR will quickly become their top selling product. I’m impressed with the porridge, made and labeled by their youth group. It’s an important supplement, particularly for people with HIV/AIDS.

We all have some Roselle tea and I sample the porridge. The tea is dark lavender and tastes something like Chamomile -- I like it. The porridge tastes a bit like oatmeal, and since I’m not an oatmeal fan, I eat enough to be polite.

I tell the group how impressed I am with their efforts. I tell them from my heart that they’re doing great work for these children and their community. Mama Orongo looks at me pensively and then says there’s something she wants me to read.

She hands me a tattered copy of a pamphlet entitled “From Hope to Despair: Women’s Rights to Own and Inherit Property.” I notice that the logos of several respected groups on the front. She turns to a particular page. She doesn’t provide any direction and doesn’t tell me what it’s about, but I instantly understand that it’s a story of Betty Tom, the Executive Secretary of the group, sitting right across from me drinking her porridge and watching me.

Betty Tom is an attractive woman in her late twenties. Not long ago, her husband, Tom Oyomo, died. An unfortunate old tribal custom is that the younger brother-in-law can inherit the wife of his deceased brother and also her property. Betty Tom faced this prospect from an aggressive brother-in-law that sexually harassed her. She was concerned with her own safety and the future of her two young boys and daughter.

Betty Tom then met Mama Orongo who told her that she has a legal right to her land and doesn’t have to submit to this outdated tribal custom. With this encouragement, her own strength, and her strong faith, she did just that. She returned to her village and demanded her rights. They met with the chief and after continuing their battle for some time, they won. Betty Tom is no longer harassed by her brother-in-law. She’s free and she’s strong.

Betty Tom is also HIV positive. She’s not on antiretrovirals yet. She’s a leader in this group, and she’s a proud woman. As we went through the morning, I’d noticed her quiet and confident leadership with the other teachers. I recall her telling me how important safe drinking water was for people with HIV/AIDS. I had responded with a rather analytical description of why it was so important. I hadn’t realized it was so personal for her.

The others have now left to greet the arrival of the incoming neighboring community. Betty Tom sits quietly watching me. I swallow hard because I don’t know what to say to this woman. She’s a hero in my eyes. I steel myself and look her in the eyes. I tell her that her story is amazing and that I’m deeply inspired.

I ask Betty Tom what I can do to help them. She tells me that they need more PUR. That I can do, I promise her.

We say good-bye, and these women of YWCA tell me to pass along their blessings to all who have helped provide PUR when I return. I can also do this.

For your part in our program, please accept the blessings of the Orongo Widows and Orphans Group.

Read other stories on the use of PUR in the field.