comment to a friend about a certain [kind of] disaster relief non-profit...
Looking at that traveling water filter company you pointed out, and the ministry of water purification, and as much as I am sure they come across as great people out to save the world, it is also very much looking like snake oil sales men to me. They seem geared to profit off of disaster relief at the expense of third world countries, in a non-sustainable way.
I am all for water collection, and think that they are using a hot and vital problem, but not very convinced about their intentions other then that they are geared to make money, and not pay taxes. Sounds more like a green washed scheme to me. You have to remember, and I imagine you probably know this already, but non-profits can actually pay very high salaries, and expenses to their employees. Combine that with a Ministry also another tax dodger, and look at their products. Sure $20 sounds cheap to American standards, but if their product is costing them $3 and they are marking it up that much... also selling plastic buckets for another 20 bucks and plastic spigots... sounds more like gold diggers, as young and hip and smooth as they may be, and dewey eyed when it comes to gosh darn it getting water to those poor dying people, they are also hitting up the disaster relief funders, the emergency stricken governments for their high mark up products, and avoiding taxes and paying themselves very well...
its easy to justify that they deserve the money and expenses, traveling around pedaling their snake oil, seeing the world on an expense account and fat profits...but really what are they doing...
Here's a org I like that is working on the water problem. As from what I understand about healthy wter, its not just about filtering or killing bacteria, and removing man made pollution or natural pollution, but about where the water comes from that makes it safe to drink.
http://www.hipporoller.org/
The Hippo Roller
I am all for water collection, and think that they are using a hot and vital problem, but not very convinced about their intentions other then that they are geared to make money, and not pay taxes. Sounds more like a green washed scheme to me. You have to remember, and I imagine you probably know this already, but non-profits can actually pay very high salaries, and expenses to their employees. Combine that with a Ministry also another tax dodger, and look at their products. Sure $20 sounds cheap to American standards, but if their product is costing them $3 and they are marking it up that much... also selling plastic buckets for another 20 bucks and plastic spigots... sounds more like gold diggers, as young and hip and smooth as they may be, and dewey eyed when it comes to gosh darn it getting water to those poor dying people, they are also hitting up the disaster relief funders, the emergency stricken governments for their high mark up products, and avoiding taxes and paying themselves very well...
its easy to justify that they deserve the money and expenses, traveling around pedaling their snake oil, seeing the world on an expense account and fat profits...but really what are they doing...
Here's a org I like that is working on the water problem. As from what I understand about healthy wter, its not just about filtering or killing bacteria, and removing man made pollution or natural pollution, but about where the water comes from that makes it safe to drink.
http://www.hipporoller.org/
The Hippo Roller