What you see here is a well being dug in Bangladesh. Ankita Shastri a graduate of Parkland High School, graduate of Boston University, and a Post Graduate of Harvard University with a PhD in Chemistry. She started volunteering for Chemists without borders in 2015. Her first position was to develop and write a grant for arsenic contamination in the drinking water of Bangladesh. Wells in Bangladesh which were dug in and around the 70's were called tube wells. However after the building of the tube wells they found that Arsenic was present in at least 68% in the water wells. the number of public wells built were around 10 million and private wells numbered around 1 million. Arsenic poisoning takes about 10 years to actually show itself in physical disabilities in humans and up to 20 years to actually have the possibility of killing someone. The tested wells contain at least 10 times the amount of Arsenic the WHO (World Health Organization)says is allowable with some wells having over 25 times the allowable amount.
Chemists without borders volunteer to educate local communities and the young high school students, to first learn how to test the wells for Arsenic. What CWB is trying to do is start with high Schools and address the high levels of Arsenic by building new wells near the high schools. The reason being easy education for the youth, but also a place where the public can come and get their drinking and cooking water for their homes. This project is in its infancy and slowly being implemented in a small area of Bangladesh. Their are over 163 million people that need cleaner drinking water. CWB are looking to get this project off the ground and then get it to all of the people of Bangladesh. A formidable project but like our Polio project every project has to have a beginning. Having Clean drinking and cooking water is the goal of Chemists without borders.
Initially Local Rotary clubs in Bangladesh are helping to support the testing and digging of new wells. Ankita is looking to garnish support for CWB from Rotary clubs around the area and the world. FYI Arsenic is naturally occurring in the ground especially present in and around Bangladesh. The you tube video will be up by the end of the week. if you missed this presentation and would like to see it.... an e-mail will be sent with he link to the you for the Emmaus Rotary You tube video site.