In 1991, visionary Ken Miller and his colleagues were responsible for ensuring clean and sufficient drinking water for all of North America. They knew first-hand the terrifying and often fatal consequences contaminated water could have and they knew how to keep their communities safe. They also knew that the death toll from water-borne diseases outside North America had reached ten thousand children a day, that over a billion people lived without clean water or sanitation and that the perpetual cycle of disease and poverty in developing countries was inexorably linked to water. Something, they decided, had to be done and they were the ones to do it. They founded Water for People, a volunteer driven organization dedicated to working with local water groups in developing countries. In just six years, Water for People has helped over two hundred communities in over 30 countries establish clean drinking water and sanitation systems for literally hundreds of thousands of people. Water For People does not simply build water systems for those who have none. Its uniqueness is in helping people in developing countries help themselves, believing strongly that local initiative, local materials, local maintenance and local ownership are critical to the success of any project. In this episode The Visionaries travels to Canada to meet a ninth grade class in Saint John that raised nearly $500 selling "Cups of Hope," so students like themselves in Bolivia could have clean drinking water. Then we go on to Bolivia to meet a number of communities where Water for People has helped develop clean drinking water and proper sanitary conditions for the people of those communities.
