These boys are using Lifestraws to filter this seemingly undrinkable water.
Photo:  Vestegaard Frandsen, Inc.

by Brook Wilkinson

Imagine getting up each morning and not having any water. How would you brush your teeth? Make your coffee? Do the laundry? Americans take clean water for granted, but if you've traveled at all to the third world, you probably have an inkling of how tenuous the rest of the world's grasp on this daily necessity truly is.

Now, we as travelers can do something about it. A Danish company, Vestergaard Frandsen, has developed an ingenious product they call the Lifestraw. This portable water purification system, which basically looks like the straw for a really thick milkshake, can turn any source of water into clean, safe-to-drink water. I learned about this incredible invention last week while talking to Linda Friedman of Custom Safaris, an East Africa expert on Wendy's annual list of the world's best travel specialists. Linda told me that some of her clients had heard about Lifestraws, which cost only $3.50 each and last for a year, and have been fundraising so that they can deliver 1,500 straws on their next trip to Kenya this July.

If you'd like to donate to this cause and give the gift of clean water to a fellow human, visit Custom Safaris' projects page. You can learn more about the Lifestraw, and watch a video of its use, over at the Creative Think blog.