Water School—Clean Water for All

Simon Mills lives on the top floor of a building in Harlem with his wife Molly and their two kids. Molly is a parent volunteer who helps teach at a local public school their children attend. The only adjustment that seemed important for the children was for others to understand their Australian accents.

“It’s so simple people don’t believe me,” Mills said. Corporate donors and benefactors just can’t seem to recognize that a little nonprofit with a simple idea can save millions of impoverished children around the world. In Africa alone, 2 million children die each year from waterborne diseases.

Simon embarked on his first nonprofit venture with two Canadian gentlemen, Dr. Bob Dell and Fraser Edwards. They formed Water School in Canada. Simon launched the U.S. branch of this organization in 2010. The idea is so simple—a donation of $10 gives a child clean water (no chemicals, drilling, or filters) for life.

“Fraser Edwards is just back from Uganda where the program has taken off. It has gone from village to village. We know that over 400,000 people are directly affected and have clean water for life.

“We are going to Kenya, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. We say it costs $10 per head to give one person clean water for life. That one person can affect a hundred other people. It is really encouraging,” he says.

Water scientist Dell visited Uganda with Edwards in 2004. When he saw the deplorable conditions and contaminated water children were drinking, resulting in death and illnesses, he sought a solution. They teach people to put water into clear plastic bottles and leave it in the direct sun for a day or in clouded sun for two days. The ultraviolet light kills bacteria and the water is safe to drink.

This process is called solar disinfection. Ultraviolet light kills bacteria. There is no shortage of clear plastic bottles anyplace in the world. “There is a bottle plant in Kenya that produces 250,000 clear plastic bottles a day,” Mills says. “The World Health Organization now endorses it. You can’t argue with that.

“When I meet with corporations seeking funds they say, ‘Why aren’t you bigger? If this really works why doesn’t everybody know about it?’ The hurdle I face raising funds for Water School is people don’t believe it could be that simple.”

Mills is a volunteer. He derives his income from entrepreneurial digital media development, real estate development, and marketing. He’s also launched an international real estate technology company that partners with large media organizations. Water school is his only charity.

“What charities lack is long-term dedication to one thing. When I’m asked what we’re going to do with the money I say we have 500 schools waiting.” Mills’s frustrations become impatience when he follows this with, “Why are they waiting? They know how, why wait?” He answers his own question with the reality of life in developing countries.

“It takes time for people to retain it and integrate it into their culture. It is a different thing educating people from different cultures. We train ordinary people from that culture to go out into villages and teach. We do it with children. They are very responsive. The children teach adults,” Mills says.

The results are startling. When Water School returns to a village they find 86 percent retention. Children that were sick and dying are healthy and back in school. Mothers on the verge of death have been cured. “When Fraser Edwards brought Dr. Bob Dell in, Dell knew he had to solve it with something simple, something available to the poorest of the poor,” Mills explained.

Mills stated, “Bob found an organization in Switzerland that had used this system. He found that bacteria will be killed if exposed to the sun for 6 hours in daylight, or two days in clouds. It works 35 degrees north and south of the equator where the sun is brightest. That is only a 70 degree band. It is where most problems of contaminated water occur.”

A question often asked concerns leaching of chemicals out of the clear plastic bottles. Mills explains, “That is a myth. Everybody drinks out of plastic bottles. There is no leaching from bottles placed in the sun. We’ve done extensive testing. If there is a percentage that does occur over time it is 1/16th of the WHO standards. People have heard these myths; this is not like putting plastic in a microwave.”

For this Australian expatriate and his family, Water School is close to their hearts. Mills says, “I don’t know what it is that gets somebody to support this. Human nature and humanity in general separate people by nations. A good idea for humanity is a good idea. Our mission is to put ourselves out of business as soon as possible. It’s achievable. It will eventually get to critical mass worldwide.”

Simon Mills is emphatic. He’s a dedicated husband and father trying to save the children of strangers, working with a small group of volunteers to bring clean water to the poorest of the poor. Every dollar raised goes directly into the program. “This is a personal journey,” he says.

Dr. John Christopher Fine is the author of 24 books on a variety of subjects. His articles and photography appear in major magazines and newspapers in the United States and Europe.