To deliver clean-water systems effectively and reach the most people, RainCatcher works with committed partners with established networks in areas with great need. Some partners are large organizations with broad reaches, others individuals or newer groups who have programs set up in communities we’re trying to reach.

Suzanne and Whitney are an example of the type of caring people we seek out. They are Country Directors with a group called Help International, which sends them new volunteers every few weeks. Before this meeting, their exposure to RainCatcher was limited to a couple short email exchanges with Jack.

Yet, because they knew RainCatcher had set up a temporary base of operations not far from the airport, they decided it couldn’t hurt to stop by on the way to pick up their next round of volunteers. Why not give us a chance to show them how it all works?

Both Suzanne and Whitney were lovely. Friendly, savvy and more than a little skeptical, they visited Dennis, Jack and Martha for a complete RainCatcher lesson.

From the start, they had some very good questions. You see, it’s not uncommon for groups to come in, drop off a “solution,” and move on to the next project. Because the need worldwide is so great, it’s understandable that follow-up isn’t thorough and that the original group might never even see how their “solution” works out.

Having experienced the disappointing aftermath of some incomplete water projects, Suzanne and Whitney wanted data, they wanted details. And, because old-style filters wear out, get clogged, and become useless rather quickly, they really weren’t expecting much from RainCatcher. But, it was only a little out of their way, so they arrived, politely obscuring their low expectations.

So, we gave them the whole RainCatcher show! Dennis rigged up a way to fill the bucket from a sink in the yard. Jack showed them videos on point-of-use filters as a solution and pages of documentation on how the filters not only remove anything larger than 0.1 micron but how they last for years. (For comparison, the bacteria that causes Cholera is 0.5 micron.)

Then, since they were playful and there was a lot of teasing going on, we made the water extra dirty and let the results speak for themselves. They were flabbergasted.

After that, they couldn’t wait to get RainCatcher up to the Mbale area to distribute a solution to the Ugandans they work with, live with and love.

Plans were made: We’ll travel to Mbale soon to get a program started and deliver filters. By the time Suzanne and Whitney departed we had two more partners eager to teach people how to use the filters and help us save more lives.