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Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Features

African children use LifeStraw to purify their water.

Over one billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water. Over five million, mostly children, die from waterborne illnesses.

Fortunately, Phi Theta Kappa plans to do their part and help bring relief. The campus honor society will be holding fundraising events on and off campus to send portable water purification devices called LifeStraws to villages in third world countries, primarily focused on Africa and South America.

Named Best Invention of 2005 by Time Magazine, the LifeStraw purifies a minimum of 700 liters of water, kills and removes 99.9 percent of all waterborne bacteria, in addition to 98.7 percent of all waterborne viruses and particles down to 15 microns. The device has been effective in preventing waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and diarrhea - and it can be carried around for safe and easy access.

At this time PTK has a donation table set up at the Theater Center on the main campus and two shops on Main Street in Daytona are accepting donations as well. This month PTK also plans to set up a number of events including on-campus raffles and contests and a bike wash on US-1 near the Iron Horse Saloon in Ormond Beach. Their goal is to raise $4,000 by the end of the Fall 2007 semester, a figure that PTK president Steve Pruitt believes will be enough to purchase, ship and distribute enough LifeStraws to three villages in need.

Pruitt, who will be representing LifeStraw, a division of Sweden's Vestergaard-Frands at the Model U.N. Conference on Oct. 26 at the Port Orange Amphitheater, hopes the fundraiser makes people aware of their global community.

"People don't look at the bigger picture," he said. "There are people who don't have the privilege of being in America... they live in villages, mud huts, poverty-stricken hell-holes and don't have the opportunities that we as Americans have… this campaign is an opportunity for people to help make a difference in the world. You can't change the world, but you can make a dent."

He added that if the fundraiser meets its goals, PTK will not only participate in another LifeStraw fundraiser, but will also raise funds for Permanet, protective netting worn to prevent the infestation of the mosquito-borne illness malaria.

For further information on LifeStraw, visit their Web site at www.lifestraw.com. To find out more on the fundraising opportunities, contact Steve Pruitt at (386) 255-8921.

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