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there are
good people everywhere I am convinced
that our business is blessed to have
more than our fair share of them. I was
reminded of that again last night when I
got a letter from Gregg McNair,
the International Director of Strata
PPX Services, asking for
help in publicizing a project with the
potential to save thousands of lives.
Gregg has
been a fervent backer of The
Water School, a charitable
organization dedicated to eliminating
waterborne diseases in Africa and
other parts of the world. A United
Nations report estimates that there
are roughly two million child deaths
every year as a result of people not
having access to clean water.
Almost 40% of total child deaths
from water related problems occur on the
African continent.
In April
McNair led a group of domain
industry
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Gregg
McNair
Strata PPX Services
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Dear
Friend,
As
many of you know my partners and I have
for some time been passionate supporters
of the Canada based charity, TheWaterSchool.org
(please have a good look at this site!)
introduced to us by long time supporter Richard
Lau.
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In
April this year I took a small
group of industry people to Uganda
where we were exposed first hand
to the real needs of the tribal
people, particularly with
respect to waterborne diseases.
It was a moving and challenging
experience for us all and we
each came away determined to do
something about it within
our own means and collectively.
Moreover the work of TWS in
providing a simple, sustainable
solution was demonstrated and
observed among the villages and
schools we visited.
We
undertook to provide a further
opportunity |
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for
industry folks to be exposed
through TWS to the needs and
solutions, by arranging another
visit in September 2009, this
time to Kenya. |
It is only
6 days out of your life and I ask you to
consider seriously coming with us…if
the people don’t win you over the
wildlife certainly will! (no trip to
Kenya would be complete without a Serengeti
safari experience!). Cost excluding return airfares to
Nairobi is US$2,000 including all
accommodations and meals in Nairobi and on
safari.
For those
who cannot make it for whatever reason
can I ask you to encourage and/or assist
others to be there. We are thrilled to
know that Sedo have already
discussed support and having a
representative there.
We all
enjoy an incredible industry and despite
so called tough times we have it so easy
compared to many we will see and meet in
Kenya. The dates September 23-29
have been fixed and planning has begun.
The proposed trip schedule is attached.*
It will be refined as we get a handle on
how many will attend.
The
following people are either committed or
are seriously working on attending: Yoni
Belousov, Merlin Kauffman, Ammar
Kubba, Greg Dumas, Kelly
Keesee, Richard Lau, Hakan
Ali, Daniel Negari, Rick
Latona, Simon Mills, Daniel
Law, Susan Prosser, Sam
Dennis, Alphan Culha and many
others.
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We
are grateful for the interest
being shown by many industry
corporates and we would love to
see at least one person from the
major players on board. You
never know, a fruitful business
deal or relationship could
actually be a byproduct of your
involvement!
At StrataPPX,
as many of you know, our primary
motivation is to try and make a
difference in this world, and to
see this work expanded is a
major objective to which we and
others have made a significant
ongoing commitment. There is
absolutely no obligation to
donate implied in this
invitation to attend. We are
convinced that going forward
your awareness alone will ensure
that more kids are saved from totally
preventable death from water
borne disease. |
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I am hoping
that you can get behind this initiative
and pass it on to others whom I may have
missed.
Warm
regards
Gregg
* A copy
of the detailed trip schedule Gregg
referred to in his letter is here.
This page also has more information on
the Water School's unique and effective Solar
Water Disinfection Program.
Editor's
Update (8/24/09): One change
on the trip schedule linked to in the
paragraph above. The hotel in Nairobi
has been changed from the Fairview
to the Nairobi Safari Club (www.nairobisafariclub.com).
If you do
not receive this letter from Gregg in
your email and would be interested in
joining the group going to Kenya, you
are invited to drop Gregg an email at [email protected]. |
