Austrian Samaritans provide drinking water in the Philippines

ASB Austria (ASBÖ) is providing continuing aid in the Philippines. Even 1 1/2 years after Typhoon Haiyan, access to clean water is still problematic in some affected regions.

ASBÖ is active in Leyte provice, a region that was hit particularly hard. In the community of Alangalang alone, 7.000 families were affected by the devastation. The Samaritans are working to alleviate the drinking water situation by building washing basins, sand filters and water tanks in several schools. To combat the hygiene problems that come with limited access to clean water, they are also offering hygiene education courses.

ASBÖ’s president, Franz Schnabl, commented: “I am concerned how much our help is still needed even now, more than a year after the disaster. It is important to ensure access to clean water for the school children.”

The aid project is funded by the city of Vienna and is conducted in cooperation with local partners. Together with them, ASB Austria’s drinking water technician is conducting courses on the usage and maintenance of filters and sustainable, solar-powered water purification devices called WADI by Austrian social enterprise Helioz. These devices keep track of the decontamination that occurs naturally after exposing a transparent PET bottle of water to direct sunlight.