Speaker Evening

Thu, Feb 28th 2019 at 6:45 pm - 8:45 pm

John Brown(Rotary Club of Kilsyth) - Aquabox
Raffle - Matt Purdie
Reception - Pete McHale / Stewart Hutchison


John Brown of the Rotary Club of Kilsyth was the speaker at the Rotary Club of South Queensferry on Thursday 28th February. His subject was the vital importance of safe drinking water in areas hit by natural or man-made disasters. John is the Aquabox Ambassador for Scotland, promoting and raising awareness of Rotary's solution to this problem. Aquabox is a charity set up and managed by the Rotary Club of Wirksworth in 1992. It distributes modular boxes containing the latest water filtration equipment together with aid items such as cooking utensils, hygiene equipment, tools, shelter materials, clothing and a soft toy. Aquaboxes contain either family- or community-sized filtration pumps which John demonstrated, producing clear water for the club members to sample from a pail of muddy water. Originally carbon filters were used, but nano-technology now means that filters can last for many years without being changed provided they are flushed out daily. The holes are so fine that they can filter out cholera, typhoid and dysentery bacteria and even the Polio virus from polluted water. Aquabox has distributed more than 110,000 boxes to more than 50 countries including Nepal, Haiti, Kerala (India) and Cameroon. Aquabox is almost entirely a voluntary organisation, so the proportion of total donations contributing directly to aid boxes is among the highest achievable. South Queensferry Rotary Club has funded many Auaboxes for disaster areas over the years and members and guests were fascinated to see the system in action. John's presentation prompted many questions from the floor. He was introduced by Pete McHale. Stewart Hutchison proposed the vote of thanks.