DHL has teamed up with the humanitarian organisation Operation Blessing International (OBI) todeliver two portable water purification systems, from Charleston, South Carolina, to the
flood-ravaged regions near Guayaquil, Ecuador.The Living Water Treatment Systems, weighing over 1,600 kg, will provide a combined 20,000gallons of clean drinking water daily. In addition to donating the transportation services, DHL ishandling the clearance of the shipment in Guayaquil and providing local employee volunteers inEcuador to assist with the delivery of the units to their final destinations, the company furtherreported.
“DHL is proud to play a meaningful role in this international relief effort, employing bothlogistics expertise and local volunteers to help deliver clean drinking water to the thousands ofEcuadorian people affected by the floods,” said Chris Weeks, Director of Humanitarian Affairs forDHL.
DHL has partnered with OBI on delivering similar water purification systems to otherdisaster-struck regions across the world, including Bangladesh, following the mid-November cyclone,and the flood-ravaged Mexican Gulf also in November 2007, DHL USA said in a statement.
According to the Ecuadorian Red Cross, heavy rains that started in January have led to severeflooding in coastal areas and the inland provinces of Canar and Carchi. The flooding has affectedapproximately 55,000 people to date and caused extensive agricultural losses. On February 21, U.S.Ambassador Linda Jewell declared a disaster due to the effects of the flooding.
