Sawyer To Complete Border-to-Border Clean Water in the Marshall Islands

The global water work is funded by 90% of Sawyer’s proceeds and helps 27+ million lives in 100+ countries.

SAFETY HARBOR, FL – April 19, 2022 – Sawyer, the leader in technology-forward outdoor solutions, along with partners from both the public and private sector, is on schedule to complete its goal of bringing clean drinking water, border-to-border, to nearly 60,000 residents of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), this July. This effort is also being championed by the women’s lead nonprofit organization, Kora in Okrane (KIO), based locally in the Marshalls, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health.

“The Marshall’s initiative is an example of how nonprofits, government, and the private sector can join forces to bring clean water to an entire country in need,” said Darrel Larson, Sawyer’s international director. “The Pacific Islands have the world’s worst water per capita, and it continues to worsen. This collaboration is proof that we can solve other water access issues, whether in the South Pacific or around the world.”

The Marshall Islands, a chain of atolls stretching along the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Australia, has been painted as ground-zero for climate change and, with only about 6,000 visitors a year, the world’s least-visited country on the globe. While rising sea levels might be the Marshallese’s demise, climatologists predict the islands will cease to exist in approximately 80 years. Safe, drinkable water is the key to ensuring their culture lives on.

“As a volunteer organization, we have worked very hard, along with our partners, to bring clean water to some of the most isolated communities in the world. It’s hard to put into words what access to the basic necessity of life means to us and the people, especially women, and children of the Marshall Islands,” said Angeline Heine-Reimers, President of Kora in Okrane (KIO). “As a small low-lying country, we continue to wrestle with a worsening climate crisis. We must take the necessary steps to ensure our people have the tools to help them navigate these challenges. And it starts with access to clean water.”

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