HELP CARRYHOPE

Water = LifeThere is no substituteThe human body is more than 65% water. To keep body and soul together, we each need half a gallon (2 L) a day. Without it, we can’t survive a week.

But most of the Earth’s water is unusable. Not everyone is lucky enough to have drinkable water nearby.

A global concern, a local needIn disaster areas and regions afflicted by drought, millions of people struggle to get the water they need to live. To make a difference, we need to make sure their water is:

Accessible One third of people worldwide are water-distressed.

Access to water by a rising population continues to be a global issue. Clean Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-borne illness. Access to clean water and sanitation continues to threaten the health of most of the world’s poorest population.

Transportable UNICEF estimates that women and children who are forced to carry water endure 200 million hours of hard labor each day.

Even when access to clean water is possible, most water must be transported. Past solutions have been laboriously inefficient, unsafe, and unhealthy.

A DROP OFINSPIRATION

Front Cover Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

Water Is A Hard Burden To BearConsider a revealing 2010 health study* of water-carrying practices in rural Limpopo Province, South Africa. In the six villages studied, most of the water carrying was done by women and children balancing sloshing containers carefully on their heads. The mean container weight was more than 43 pounds (19.5 kg), and the mean distance traveled with a full container was about 368 yards (337 m).

Not surprisingly, 69% of all the water carriers experienced spinal (neck or back) pain. People who carried head loads were especially affected.

The study also noted that others who carry similar burdens have been shown to sustain catastrophic injuries, including: - Spinal fracture - Spinal dislocation - Early-onset cervical spine degeneration - Death

In the end, the health study recommends “where [water carrying] must continue, identifying and reducing risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders and physical injury.”

* Domestic water carrying and its implications for health: a review and mixed methods pilot study in Limpopo Province, South Africa, Geere et al. Environmental Health 2010, 9:52. http://www.ehjournal.net/content/9/1/52

“The lack of access to safe water remains thethirdmostsignificantriskfactorfor poor health in developing countries.”

For many, access to water comes at a steep physical price.

Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

A New Wave

* Performance Assessment of Greif WaterWearTM Backpacks, Greif Packaging LLC, April 10, 2012.

The Pack is superior to other water-carrying methods: - It provides an easy, safe, and comfortable form of transportation

- It lessens the potential for neck and spine injuries

- With education and proper use, it greatly reduces contamination during source-to-home transportation

- It allows for clean, effective storage at home

- It creates a platform for in-country micro business opportunities

Battelle, the world’s largest not-for-profit research institution, conducted a third-party, independent study* of the Pack. It evaluated 11 key aspects of the Pack’s functionality. And the Pack met or exceeded all of those measures. The study confirmed that the combination of chlorine and solar water disinfection (SODIS) to disinfect microbiologically contaminated drinking water and turbid river water, while stored in the specially designed liner, effectively killed bacteria and viruses.

The bag can be used by disaster relief and refugee crisis organizations as a disaster relief kit. It can significantly reduce contamination with education and proper usage.

The continued water crisis has inspired us to create a solution: a safe, effective way for individuals to transport water. Manufactured by Greif, it’s called the WaterWear™ Pack.

Anatomy of a solutionThe WaterWear™ Pack is an inexpensive, flexible polyethylene backpack with a puncture-resistant outer shell and a removable plastic liner. It holds about 5.25 gallons (20 L) of water.

Shoulder the load

71The Pack is seven times more compact than a traditional jerry can

p

Adjustable Straps

Protective Cover with Reflective Tape

Puncture Resistant Fabric

Hand Straps

Drain Spout

Double Liner

Chlorine Tablet Pouch

For many in water-distressed countries, physical survival is a priority. WaterWear™ Packs carry a lot more than water. They also bring new opportunity.

The old paradigm of giving was seen as the path to assistance. The new paradigm suggests using economic empowerment as a long term, viable solution.

Micro Business Opportunities:

BackthePack is the collaboration between the corporate world and some of the world’s most dynamic non-government organizations (NGOs).

Each household will receive two WaterWear™ Packs: one to transport and one to store.

The Next Step: Improving Life

- In-country production

- Repair and maintain quality of pack

- Recycle and provide additional liners

- Jerry can trade-in program

- Local artist design

- Artisan exchange program

Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

We’re almost there, but we need your help.

Take us the last mile.

BackthePack.

The power of partnershipFor those involved with relief efforts in developing countries, you know each success is a group effort. Now, we need you to connect the link and put WaterWearTM Pack in the hands of those who desperately need them.

Greif, the creator of the WaterWear™ Pack, is a global leader in industrial packaging. Greif is deeply committed to achieving long-term sustainability and addressing global challenges. It has the technology and experience to develop innovative, scalable, and sustainable products that enable developing nations to solve the problem of transporting and storing water. The WaterWear™ Pack is a shining example of this.

By working with globally recognized organizations, Grief can bring its expertise and products where they’re needed most.

It’s about what’s inside

Making innovation workImpact Economics was established with the goal of scaling innovative products and business models that will elevate the living conditions of vulnerable people around the world.

www.backthepack.comLEARN MORE

Impact Economics

www.backthepack.com

@backthemovement

1-614-794-2732

274 Marconi Blvd Suite 400Columbus, Ohio 43215