84
Smile
May2016
Thingsdidn’tquitegoasplanned
on that trip to Indonesia.Amassive
earthquake, registeringamagnitude
of7.6, devastated theareaandreduced
partsof theSumatrancityofPadang
torubble. Jondelivered the10filters to
reliefcenters instead, becomingoneof
thedisaster’sfirst responders.
Theexperiencewas lifechanging.
“It taughtmemany things,”herecalls.
“Chiefamong themwashowpractical
thesesolutions likewaterfilterswere,
andhowbig theneedwas for them.”His
fellowsurfers joinedhim, andWaves
forWater (W4W)wasborn—aclean-
waterdrive foundedon thenotion that
youcando the thingsyou loveandhelp
along theway.
How itworks
Armedwithwater-filtersystems
and thedesire tobringcleanwater
toeveryonewhoneeds it, Jon then
teamedupwithsurfingcompany
Hurley International to fortifyW4W’s
initiatives.Lateron,with thehelpof
volunteercommunities, othernon-
profitsandcorporatepartners, their
effortsdiversified throughavolunteer
programcalledCleanWaterCouriers
(CWC).Hardy travelerswhoget
everywhere, suchassurfers,make for
perfectcouriers—notonlydo they
get to far-flungplaces, theyalsooften
relyon thekindnessandhospitality
of locals,withwhom they form
friendships, tofind theirwayaround.
Ona trip toBaler,Aurora, on the
eastern fringesofLuzon, 25-year-old
MegManzanodiscovered this impulse
atfirsthand. “Imagine thatyour town
had justbeenravagedbya typhoonand
thereyouare, preparingamakeshiftbed
forvisitorsandcooking themdinner,”
shesays. “Icouldn’tcomprehendat the
timehowanyonehad theemotional
capacity togivesomuch, despite
having just lost somuchaswell.After
all these trips, youstart toseehow
traveling issuchaperfect realm for
giving—youencountersomanypeople
onyourwayandseesomanyplaces, it
seems imperative thatyoureturn their
welcomebyhelpingout.”Meganhas
beenacourier forayearandahalf.
Ifbackpacking isdo-it-yourself
travel,CWC isakindofDIY
humanitarianism—aside from
donatingdirectly to thecause,
volunteerscan “travelwithapurpose”.
Travelersbuildandpay for theirown
itineraries, thencrowd-fundonW4W’s
platform tobuyfilters for their trips.
Therearea fewoptionsoffilters,
ranging inprice, sizeandversatility,
butall of themeffectivelyremove
ahostofdisease-causingbacteria.
W4Wprovides theresources toensure
travelersunderstandhow tooperate
anddistribute thefiltersystemsonce
they’reon theground. Socialmediahas
beenagreathelp inspreading theword
—one inspiringstorypostedonline
has thepower to increase thenumber
ofcouriersexponentially—andover
thepast sixyears,CWChasprovided
cleanwater to8millionpeople in27
countries.
W4Whasnow implemented
programs inseveralSouth-EastAsian
countries, andmoreare in thepipeline.
In thePhilippines,CWCmissionsand
W4Wvolunteercrewsbeganwork
in theaftermathofTyphoonHaiyan,
where theyplayedamajorrole inrelief
operations.Twoandahalfyearssince
thedisaster that leveledTaclobanand
itssurroundingareas, local teamshave
responded toallmajorcalamities in the
Philippines,workingaround theclock
toreachpeople inneed. “It’sreallyhard
not torespondwhenweknowwhata
measurable impactourprogramwill
have,”saysCarloDelantar,W4W’s
countrydirector in thePhilippines. So
far,Carloandhis teamhavedelivered
water-filtersystems to33provinces
around thecountry.
Dive in
Learnmoreabout the
initiativeandget onboard
theclean-waterdriveat
wavesforwater.org
THERE’SAMOBILEAPP
FORTHAT
Wantto
beacourier?
Tohelpsupport its increasing
on-the-groundefforts,W4W
recently launched theForWater
appwhichallows travelers
tocreate, raise fundsand
execute theirownclean-water
programs ina transparent
way. If youwant tobeapart
of theglobalW4Wcommunity
andhelpsolveoneof today’s
majorglobal issues, download
_ForWater from theappstore.
_for_water
Givingback
PHOTOSBY
DJSTRUNTZ&ARTUNEPOMUCENO
