The lack of clean potable water is a matter of worldwide concern. Today, more than 25% of the world's water supply is polluted. A recent World Bank report found that only 40% of the world's population has enough water. Water consumption has increased seven times since the beginning of the 20th century.

Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President of the International Water Resources Association, told delegates at the United Nations International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development that about 1.2 billion people lack access to clean water now, and that 5 to 10 million people die each year from water-borne diseases. The suffering will only increase unless steps are taken to improve water purity.

Works of Wonder International is actively seeking to license and adapt simple and affordable technologies in the areas of water purification, irrigation and water transport for use in developing countries.

While our primary focus is to increase the availability of pure water, an important secondary goal is to assist in dealing with the many hidden stress factors and healthcare costs associated with lack of access to clean drinking water, and to provide an overall improvement in well-being.

The Problem of Water Transport

Millions of people worldwide are forced to walk long distances on a daily basis to collect their water requirements for the day. Traditional methods of collecting water include the use of 20-liter (5-gallon) buckets, which are laboriously carried on the head. Extensive suffering occurs in the process. This method is very time and energy consuming and is also the cause of many serious health problems.

The Hippo Water Roller was specifically designed to alleviate the suffering caused by a lack of access to water. The Hippo Water Roller is a barrel-shaped container designed to transport 90 liters (20 gallons) of water. It comprises of a drum with a large screw-on cap and a clip-on steel handle.

The drum is manufactured from UV stabilized Polyethylene and has been designed to withstand typical rural conditions such as uneven footpaths, rocks and even broken bottles. The large opening (135 mm / 5.3 inch diameter) allows for easy filling and cleaning of the interior. The sealed lid ensures hygienic storage of water and the steel handle provides firm control over difficult terrain while pushing or pulling the roller.

The innovative design allows water to be placed inside the "wheel" rather than carried above the wheel. The 90kg (200 pound) weight of water is borne on the ground resulting in an effective weight of just 10kg (22 pounds) on level ground. Children and the elderly can easily manage a full roller over most types of terrain.

Light Up The World Foundation (LUTW) utilizes Solid State Lighting technologies powered by renewable resources to enhance the quality of life of the poor in the developing world. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Dave Irvine-Halliday, LUTW is a humanitarian initiative whose chief goal is to assist poor villagers in the developing world obtain a useful, healthy, safe, reliable, rugged, affordable and environmentally friendly White Light Emitting Diode (WLED) based form of home lighting.

This major goal is being achieved using low energy (1-Watt) WLEDs. A child can read by the light of a single WLED which consumes less than 1 Watt. Thus, a rural home can be lit to a very useful level of illumination with only 1 Watt. Solid-State lighting technology can reorient development strategies toward the creation of enterprise, increased employment, enhanced income and gender equity, health and safety, and protection of the physical environment.

Of the world's 6 billion people, 1.2 billion - 1 person in five - live on less than $1 a day. Between 750 million and one billion of these absolute poor live in slums. 300 million of these live in the slums of Africa. Without adequate housing, social stability and a sense of security, any hope of community mobilization or poverty eradication is compromised.

There are many advantages to building with local earthen materials.  Earth blocks are one of the most environmentally friendly building materials available.  By comparison, cement is the most commonly used building material, yet at great expense to the environment.  Cement requires tremendous energy resources to produce and often those resources create significant levels of pollution.  Earth blocks also require less skilled labor for construction and their production consumes the least amount of energy.

Works of Wonder  International seeks to increase access to adequate housing by raising awareness of low-cost building methods, and by helping local builders acquire the necessary technologies and skills.

KickStart (formerly known as ApproTec) develops and markets new technologies in Africa. These low-cost technologies are purchased by W.O.W. and then made available to local entrepreneurs in exchange for community service.

KickStart has developed a high-pressure stablized soil block press, which makes strong building blocks from soil and cement. Four workers using this heavy duty manual press can produce 500 rock hard building blocks a day, compacting a soil/cement mixture under high mechanical pressure. The press is adjustable for use with almost any soil type and just 1 bag of cement makes over 100 bricks.

Blocks can be sold profitably to build walls at half the cost of the concrete block or stone walls.

In many areas of the world, there are villages surrounded by fertile land, and the people of the villages are willing to apply their skills and energy to generate income. However, in most villages there is very little work and activity, and the people are desperate for money and resources. Many leave their villages to search for work in the cities. One way to address this problem is through a system of food production called "Permaculture".

Permaculture is a way of producing food and managing resources far more efficiently than with conventional modern large-scale farming. Permaculture uses natural methods to enrich soil and to build self-sufficient systems with minimal waste. Using permaculture techniques, villagers can develop their own land for growing organic vegetables. This creates jobs and generates income for the local people, preventing the loss of cultural integrity caused by migration to larger cities.

Works of Wonder International has been invited by two of the traditional leaders of the Mavuso provinces in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa to design a project that will help the people in that area escape the trap of poverty. Our proposal includes a plan to apply permaculture principles that will help the Mavuso villagers develop their land and grow organic vegetables for sale.

A plot of land near the Mavuso village has been assigned by Chief Langa Mavuso for this purpose. On that plot, W.O.W., in partnership with other local groups, will develop 1 hectare to grow commercial vegetables. The developed land will be fenced and supplied with irrigation. Seven people from the village will take full-time responsibility for the project. We estimate that by the end of the first year, the land will produce R150,000 (about $18,000) worth of organic vegetables.

The International Association for Human Values has a program called "Breath, Water, Sound" that has been taught to more than one million people around the world.

It is designed specifically to support disadvantaged people and those challenged by poverty, substance abuse or other negative patterns in life.

Participants experience reduced stress, increased energy levels, and a greater sense of belonging and responsibility for themselves and for their communities.

Youth leaders from the local community are trained to administer the program, which includes breathing exercises that help alleviate physical and emotional stress, simple meditation techniques that improve clarity of thought and productivity, as well as practical instruction in everyday concerns such as hygine and healthy diet.

Follow-up sessions, also conducted by the youth leaders, bring the community together to celebrate and share ideas for collective improvement.

To see a video of Works of Wonder co-founder Alice Holliday describing the Breath, Water, Sound program, please click here: South Africa - The Eastern Cape