2. Guest Speaker Dan Kane – Aqua Box Program -Aquabox gets fresh drinking water to people in natural disasters such as emergencies such as hurricane, earthquake, etc. It is a gravity ceramic water filter. -The box is a gravity fed system with 2 separate buckets. The one at top is for dirty water and contains a filter system. (No pump or electricity, so it takes about 5 hours for 1 bucket to go through…so it needs to be fed constantly). -The capacity of the system is that it will give a family of 5 fresh drinking water for a year. This will vary depending on the condition of the water going in. -The filters are cleanable and reusable. There is a measurement gauge that will determine when you reach the end of the life of the filter. -Goal is to be on the ground as quickly as possible. -Boxes are distributed via global medic (volunteers) out of Toronto. (They have a bigger purification system that they will bring in a few weeks later) -$50 for kit (roughly). The ceramic filters make up $30 of that cost. -Try to source everything as locally as possible. Buckets are out of Goderich, Filters are out of Richmond Hill; the builds are at the Stratford Festival scene shop. -50 or 60 volunteers can make 500 kits in under 2 hours. -Rotary has also started putting together hygiene kits (soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes) -When collapsed, the buckets all fit into a medium sized box (smaller than a recycle bin) -When shipped out, the goal is to have them as small and compact as possible because the biggest expense is actually transportation of the boxes. -The project started with a club in England in the early 1990’s. -Some Stratford Rotarians learned about it at an International conference and started in the mid 1990’s. -Now Stratford Rotary’s system is completely different -When the Earthquake hit Quebec, the Aquaboxes were on the ground within 72 hours -They have been stored her and they are sometimes stored in Toronto -$23000 - $25000 is needed to do the next build. Rotary would appreciate Rotaract’s support in getting the word out. -We discussed making a movie of someone drinking Avon river water that has been filtered through it. -Since 2006, Rotary has built almost 8000 boxes, providing over 30 million litres of drinking water -The kits cost $50 but any donation is helpful. Tax receipts are available -The next build will be in the spring | 
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