“It's
such a fundamental part of the interruption of transmission of infectious
agents that could save so many lives. It's not a magic wand, but it's a very
important element”
CEO of Clean the World,
Shawn Seipler, on his quest to recycle soap from Hotels to be send to countries
where soap and Water can save lives from infectious diseases
Recycling
soap is a way of life for me as its good Hygiene. Whenever a bar of soap is
about to finish, I usually collect them, then wet them and slowly mould them
together to form a ball of soap for use to wash my hands.
But
did you know that in some part of the world, access to Soap and water are the
main cause of disease spread? Not only is the lack of sanitation making it
harder to fight diseases such as Bird flu (H5N2), Influenza (H1N1) and even the
deadly Ebola Virus as explained in the article “Ebola
Virus Can Be Killed with Soap and Water”, published August 05, 2014 by
Lorie Johnson, CBN News?
So
says the WHO (World Health Organization)
Ebola Website, whose infographic says as much
 |
One
man, Shawn Seipler of Orlando, Florida, has realized this. In a bid to save people
dying because of a lack of good hygiene, he has started a Non-profit
Organization called Clean the World.
Clean the World collects unused Hotel
Soap and reprocesses it into soap for Third World Countries as reported in the
article “Group
hopes recycled hotel soap helps save lives worldwide”, published April 10,
2015 By BRIAN SKOLOFF Associated Press, Yahoo
News.
 |
Clean the World, which has processing
plants in Las Vegas, Orlando and Hong Kong, collects unused soap and bathing
lathers from some 4,000 hotels that are in these major cities.
How Clean the World
makes Soap – Leftovers from Hotels washed and made new again
The
soap is then shredded using grinders and potato peelers and then boiled in
cookers to kill any residual bacteria. The liquid soap is then dehydrated using
an evaporator and then squeezed through an extruder to make new bars and
packaged for delivery.
These
new bars of soap are delivered to some ninety nine (99) countries around the
world that have no access to soap. This includes places such as the Middle East
and even Homeless Shelters in the US of A. To date Clean the World has delivered some
roughly 25 million bars of reprocessed soap worldwide.
Clean the World coordinates with local
aid and non-governmental organizations to not only distribute the recycled Soap
but also educate people about the benefits of good hygiene. The even send their
own teams into rural communities to not only do deliveries but also spread the
gospel of Soap and its usage to maintain good hygiene.
A
hard sell to be sure, especially in countries where potable water is so scarce,
you have to decide between taking a bath, washing your hands or cooking.
Hotel Soap for Third
World Countries - How Recycled Soap can stop Ebola and other diseases
So
how did Shawn Seipler, who is now CEO of Clean
the World, decided that this was a worthwhile venture?
He
started by asking questions about what happened to the Hotel soap after a night
at a Minneapolis Hotel. According to Shawn Seipler, the Hotel soap is only used
once and then sent to landfills, quote: “I picked up the phone and called the
front desk and asked them what happens to the bar of soap when I'm done using
it. They said they just threw it away”.
 |
And
thus began this former IT Technology Employees quest to collect soap not openly
from hotels but also public restrooms, rest stops and even and even cleanser
wipes at the entrances of grocery stores used to sanitize shopping cart
handles.
This
lack of Soap and Water to bathe and even wash your hands is a serious problem
that’s making it hard to stop the spread of infectious diseases to quote professor
of preventive medicine and an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee Dr. William Schaffner: “It's
a huge problem. One of the most common kinds of illnesses in the world are
those that are transmitted from person to person and to oneself because of
germs that are on one's hands”.
So
true, as Hand washing and bathing with soap and water alone can stop the spread
of diseases like Ebola, which despite the hype created by the Media, is being
spread mainly in the rural parts of West Africa and is NOT airborne.
Ebola rises again in
West Africa - How Hand washing and Bathing can stem Ebola’s Resurgence
Up
to about February of 2015, the following cases have been recorded in West
Africa, carried back to Sierra Leone by sick fisher folk who spread the disease
into the country side as stated in the article “Nearly
Halted in Sierra Leone, Ebola Makes Comeback by Sea”, published FEB. 28,
2015 by SHERI FINK, NY Times:
1. 80
in Sierra Leone
2. 39
in Guinea
3. 5
in Liberia
4. 124
New Ebola Case in Total
In
fact, this may be the tip of the iceberg as the disease is on the rise to quote
United Nations special envoy on Ebola, Dr David Nabarro: “We're on a good path,
this is coming down, but we really have to be vigilant because there are still
pockets of infection”.
 |
The
lack of access to clean potable water and soap has been cited as the main reason
why the Ebola Virus is slowly making a comeback in West Africa as noted in the
article “New Ebola cases show
first rise in 2015”, published 4 February 2015, BBC News.
Below
is a snapshot of a continuously updated graphic that shows Ebola Deaths in West
Africa:
 |
According
to the WHO (World Health Organization), the disease is slowly making 2015 its
playground after ravaging West Africa Killing some 10,600 since December 2013.
Worse may be yet to come.
But
there may be a light at the end of the tunnel now that Shawn Seipler, CEO of Clean the World, is out to save West Africa,
one recycled bar of Soap at a time.
Here’s
the link:
Clean the World Twitter Feed: @CleantheWorld
No comments:
Post a Comment