Infant Warmer
Around 19 million low-birth weight babies are born every year in developing countries. Unable to regulate their body temperatures, many die. The Embrace helps to warm vulnerable infants (a special pouch slips into the back of the bag to provide hours of safe heat) while allowing for nursing and cuddling.
Developed by: Jane Chen, Linus Liang, Naganand Murty, Rahul Panicker
Website: embraceglobal.org
Launch country: India
The challenge was given to college students at Stanford to solve the problem of infants in rural/poor communities not surviving due to low birth weight for less than $200. More children die in India than any other country in the world. Nearly 2 million a year under the age of five. India is their launch country. Awesome!!
Water Container
In impoverished rural areas, clean water is often miles away from the people who need it, leaving them susceptible to waterborne diseases. The sturdy Q Drum holds 13 gallons in a rolling container that eases the burden of transporting safe, potable water—a task that falls mostly to women and children.
Developed by: P. J. and J. P. S. Hendrikse
Website: qdrum.co.za
Launch country: South Africa
Purifying Straw
Some 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Sipping through the LifeStraw filters surface water on-site, reducing the transmission of bacteria and viruses. Thousands of ten-inch LifeStraws were donated to Haiti after this year’s earthquake. Each filters about 160 gallons; a new, shorter model, nearly 265.
Developed by: Vestergaard Frandsen
Website: lifestraw.com
Launch country: Kenya
There are many other cool things in both the National Geographic article and on the Be the Change series including Plumpy Doze (high nutrition food for children with chronic malnutrition), sugarcane charcoal (prevents deforestation, respiratory illness and low cost) and portable clay coolers (allow farmers to keep produce fresh for much longer). These are all low cost things that can change the developing world.
Be the Change Save a Life is pretty cool. Here is some ways you can help and things they are doing to save a life. There are so many areas that are in desperate need of attention but clean water is the one that I continue to think about. I plan to educate myself more on the need for clean water, how it impacts the children of my worldly community and what organizations I can stand behind. Today I have been thinking a lot about water. I pee in clean water that one billion people don't have access to. I wash my dogs with that same water. I fill my fish tank with that water. Some people water their lawns with that water. I don't water my lawn. I think that is silly. If it's brown so be it. I wash my clothes with that water. I wash my car with that water. My neighbor power washes his driveway with that water. Clean water. We do all those things with clean water. Clean water that many many many people don't even have to drink. Access to clean water would save lives. Many many many lives.
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