S. Korea-made purifier turns rainwater in drinking water in Vanuatu

Today, March 22nd.... is the annual observance of World Water Day.And a university here in Korea is getting into the spirit of the day,... helping children on the Pacific island of Vanuatu.Our Choi Si-young has the story. A twenty-ton water purifier that turns rainwater into freshwater.That's what South Korea's Seoul National University made on Wednesday,... for young children in the capital of Vanuatu, an island state in the South Pacific Ocean.Despite the country's heavy annual rainfall, the people of Vanuatu have hard time finding clean drinking water due to the lack of reservoirs and water purifiers, so the country asked for the university's help.Standing outside a kindergarten, the purifier collects rainwater from the kindergarten's roof and filters out the impurities.Each of the some one-hundred and fifty children at the primary school will now have ten-liters of water a day,... about five times the amount experts usually recommend. The Rainwater Research Center at Seoul National University said building the purifier WAS upon Vanuatu's request, and that it WANTED to reach out to those in need of freshwater,... but there were other reasons too."The rainwater in Vanuatu is relatively very "clean,"... without many impurities, and simple procedures can turn it into freshwater, so we decided to set up the purifier there."The center aims to help more countries that lack clean water,... to have more access to freshwater.But before that, the center hopes that the locals themselves make good use of the purifier."We will teach locals how to use the purifier, and after that our hope is that THEY operate the system."Echoing the theme of this year's World Water Day,... "Leaving No One Behind," the center urges people to think about the underprivileged,... who don't have access to fresh water.Choi Si-young, Arirang News.