Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019

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Fromits humblebeginningsin 1969as a mountainsafetynews-

letterfor climbers,MSRhas evolvedinto a stakeholdernot only

in the outdoorindustrybut also in the field of globalhealth.MSR

is certainlynot afraid of climbing the highest peaks, a challenge

worthadmiring.

GETINVOLVED

Directdonationsare alwayswelcome,and individualscan fund-

raisefor MSR’scausein relationto a trip or otheroccasions.

For the overlandcommunity,Patrickmentionsthe opportunityto

distributechlorinedevicesin remotevillageswithMSR’stravel

program:Adventuresfor Impact.Withdestinationssuchas Kili-

manjaroor Nepal,thesetrips operateunderthe conceptof “leav-

ing yourdestinationbetterthanyou foundit.” Trip costsgo to-

wardcoveringwaterfilterdistributionand localguides and do

not benefit MSR financially.msrglobalhealth.com

OVERLAND CONSERVATION ÅSA BJÖRKLUND

Anyonewho has venturedinto the backcountryis likelyto have

comeacrossMSR’srangeof tents,waterfilters,and camping

stoves.But few peopleknowthat the companyalsoprovides

safe drinking water to 500,000 people in over 30 countries

aroundthe globe.

Threein ten peopleworldwide,or 2.1 billion,lack accessto safe

waterat home.Childrenare at mostrisk of the consequences.

Accordingto the WorldHealthOrganization,everyyear, 361,000

childrenunder5 yearsof age die due to diarrhea.

Instead of using cheap labor countries for production, MSR

manufacturesequipmentin the UnitedStatesand Ireland.Prod-

uct salesthencoverall operatingexpenses(research,salaries,

overheadcosts,etcetera)for the company’sdistributionof water

filtersin developingcountries.For the sakeof efficiency,MSR

partnerswith aid organizationsexperiencedin communitywork

in eachcountry.Of all of MSR’swaterfiltersystems,the Com-

munityChlorineMakerspearheadstheirglobalhealthwork.

“Theinnovationof this systemis that it solvesa supplychainis-

sue.Chlorinehas beenusedfor overa centuryto cleanwater,

but the problemis that chlorinestartsto breakdownfromthe

momentit’s madeand is alsoextremelydifficultand costlyto

transport,” said Patrick Diller, MSR Global Health’s program

manager.“TheMSRCommunityChlorineMaker,on the other

hand,empowerscommunitiesto maketheir own chlorinefor wa-

ter treatmenton the spot with just salt, water, and electricity from

any powersource.”

Dillerrecentlyvisiteda communityin Guatemalaafterit had used

the ChlorineMakerfor six months.“Whenwe talkedwith people

in the community,the benefitsthat extendbeyondhavingsafe

waterbecameclear.Studentswith accessto safe drinkingwater

will spendmoredaysin the classroom because they’re not sick

and missingschool,”Patricksaid.

The benefitsare particularlyevidentfor womenand girls,who

oftenspendhoursfindingand treatingwater,at the expenseof

schooling.“Thislack of educationearlyin life oftenconsignsgirls

to povertyor dependence,” UNICEF Executive Director Carol

Bellamy shares.

WATER FOR LIFE

MSRPROVIDESSTATEOF THE

ART WATERFILTERSFOR THE

DEVELOPING WORLD.

MSR’sChlorineMaker,

a stateoftheartwater

filter that’ssimple,

Photo courtsey of MSR cheap, and durable.