 
In the past decade, more people around the world have died from waterborne illnesses than from all wars combined. The toll is greatest among children and families. Lack of access to clean water reduces community productivity, renders education efforts ineffective, and strains already inadequate health care resources. Facing constant sickness and threat, families cannot plan to improve their lives. They are disempowered.  Friendly Water for the World works with communities around the world who have little in the way of access to resources, except for their own intelligence, resilience, pent-up initiative, labor, generosity, and caring. By sharing their knowledge and providing training in ensuring clean water, they help to end a culture of dependency, enabling people and communities to take charge of their lives. And in doing so, we take charge of our own.   
We look for technologies and approaches that are proven, affordable, utilize local materials and resources, are easily teachable, and can be replicated, so that what we do in one community together can be readily spread to others.
We teach people to fabricate, distribute, install, and maintain BioSand Water Filters. BioSand Filters are a low-cost, locally implemented technology that are proven to remove bacteria, viruses, protozoa, amoebae, worms, and heavy metals from the water supply. By teaching people to build and install BioSand Water Filters, combined with community sanitation and hygiene education, we can reduce and ultimately remove the threat of cholera, typhoid, bacterial dysentery, Rotavirus, hepatitis A, cryptosporidiosis, and other waterborne illnesses. 
Friendly Water is an Olympia, Washington-based nonprofit founded in 2010. They currently work in 12 countries, in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as in North America. Outside of North America, most of their work is in poor, rural communities, often ignored by large charities, missions, aid organizations, or by their own governments. They work with everyone – of all races and religions – Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, animist, or none at all. CONTENT AND PICS © FRIENDLY WATER
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AuthorJennifer Williams MD, from Olympia, Washington is working and traveling in Africa. Archives
August 2019
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Our next destination was South Luangwa National Park in Zambia
When we arrived at our lodge the first thing we were told is not to walk around the campus without a guide. This kind seemed extreme. But sure enough each morning we awoke to new friends: the first morning there were two hippos right outside our front door and the second morning a family of elephants traipsed right across the yard. |
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Our first evening safari — Everything but the lioness and cubs
14. AND THE LEOPARDS. The South Luangwa is best known for its leopard population. Our first leopard casually strolled around the Land Rover, not more than 4 feet away. Our most leopardly leopard was perched on a branch in an Acacia tree, just above his 1/2 eaten impala. The hyenas circled the base of the tree hoping for scraps to fall
- Elephants- maybe one in ten without one or both tusks. Cause is both congenital and poaching. But of course poaching elephants with the biggest healthiest tusks alters the gene pool and begins to favor elephants without tusks.
- Giraffes, mostly living. We saw a freshly killed giraffe and awaited the lions to return for dinner but the smell became too overwhelming and we moved on.
- African buffalo, (the ones with the horns that look like a curled mustache)
- Hippopotami, wading, yawning, wallowing, and bellowing.
- Impala and puku are small ungulates (leopard snacks)
- Zebra--this species has only pure black and white stripes. (Some have brown patches and “shadow stripes”)
- Vervet monkeys
- Yellow baboons
- Male lion-probably an adolescent
- Spotted genet (cat family, nocturnal, spotted body like a leopard and long bushy ringed tail. Size of a Maine coon cat. Omnivorous. )
- White tailed mongoose
14. AND THE LEOPARDS. The South Luangwa is best known for its leopard population. Our first leopard casually strolled around the Land Rover, not more than 4 feet away. Our most leopardly leopard was perched on a branch in an Acacia tree, just above his 1/2 eaten impala. The hyenas circled the base of the tree hoping for scraps to fall
