In July 2015, Bright Water’s president, Rick Blodgett, spent nearly two weeks in Kenya. He was accompanied by BWF advisor Prof. Bob Metcalf and his wife, Dr. Mary Beth Metcalf.
While there he found microbiological evidence proving the effectiveness of the water education, testing and treatment program being promoted by Bright Water in Lower Nyakach and carried out by Friends of the Old (FOTO), a local community-service group.
Blodgett’s findings were three-fold:
- He found members of the community to be well-trained and educated by those familiar with using the Portable Microbiology Laboratory (PML) on why and how to treat contaminated water and test for signs of disease.
- He found they all have access to the tools needed to treat their water and make it safe for drinking — chlorine and/or a solar-pasteurization.
- As he talked with the people, he found they understand the value of testing for and sanitizing water to make it drinkable. They realize the extra efforts to ensure its safety far outweigh dealing with the side effects of disease.