FRESH Water

F.R.E.S.H. Water is a student-run philanthropic organization working towards the goal of bringing water purification resources to rural areas of Peru. F.R.E.S.H. operates under the ideal that college students can and should instigate social change. We focused F.R.E.S.H Water's initial efforts towards a common goal; to put our time and education towards a humanitarian effort. Indeed, we quickly discovered that a lack of clean water was a cause worthy of attention. More importantly, we realized that we could provide a positive, tangible influence in this area. We have the resources and the desire to positively influence the world.

We seek to take sustainability into account, as well as the cultural context in which we are working. We hope to have a working water treatment system built and running in Peru by the end of the summer of 2009. F.R.E.S.H. Water is considered a Not-For-Profit organization and was therefore granted 501(c)(3) status through Brandeis University.

F.R.E.S.H. is comprised of students from Brandeis University. We were drawn together by the simple desire to help others. We come from all disciplines, including biology, chemistry, neuroscience, history, literature, fine arts, and economics. Membership is based only on the demonstrated effort to help F.R.E.S.H. bring about positive social change.

F.R.E.S.H. Water was founded on the belief that anybody can instigate positive social change given the thoughtful application of concerted effort. The following is a brief timeline of our progress. Here are several of our landmark achievements:

• F.R.E.S.H. Water pursued recognition as an official Brandeis University Club. After the University approved the constitution as well as a thorough evaluation by University officials, the Brandeis University Student Union approved F.R.E.S.H. Water as a recognized club.
• F.R.E.S.H. Water was officially granted 501(c)(3) status that is given to all official Not-For-Profit clubs and organizations of Brandeis University, officially making us a Not-For-Profit legal entity. We can now offer tax dedications for any sizable donations made to us.
• F.R.E.S.H. Water became a member of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN), a group of philanthropic organizations from several universities in the New England area, including Harvard and MIT.
• F.R.E.S.H. Water began a partnership with Positive Foundations, another Brandeis University student organization, to create the Water Taskforce. This taskforce works with the Harvard Clean Water Project to find solutions to water contamination problems, such as heavy metal and arsenic contamination.
• F.R.E.S.H. Water began working with Dwight Peavey, a Senior Scientist of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, New England.

The United Nations has recognized the availability of clean, safe water as one of the most pressing issues facing developing nations. 18% of the world's population does not have access to clean drinking water . Every day, 4,400 children under the age of five die due to water-borne illness . Many of these illnesses are preventable using basic water treatment methods, such as filtration and disinfection. According to the World Health Organization, "Improved water and sanitation will speed the achievement of all eight Millennium Development Goals."

In this spirit, several Brandeis University undergraduate students have come together to plan, fund, and implement our own plan for bringing water treatment resources to areas that have none.

Solving this problem is not merely an issue of bringing bottled water. Every individual, no matter where he or she lives, needs to have a consistent and renewable source of clean water. We work by targeting a specific area in need of a source of clean water, developing an economically and technically reasonable solution, and implementing that solution in a way that minimizes overhead.