Jaden Smith
is helping the residents of Flint through a new initiative. The rapper, actor
and co-founder of the eco-friendly company JUST Water has partnered with a
local Flint church to deploy a mobile water treatment system. The system is
called "The Water Box" and it filters out lead and additional
contaminants in water, according to a press release.
Flint's
water crisis began in April 2014 after the city's water source was switched
from the Detroit River to the Flint River, which resulted in city-wide lead
contamination of public drinking water. First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church
in Flint has been on the front line of the battle to restore drinkable water in
the city. The church has also given out over 5 million bottles of water to
local residents.
In 2018, the
free bottled water program set up by the state was ended under former Gov. Rick
Snyder. However, a recent announcement by newly appointed Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer states that the program will be reinstated . Bottle donations
for the city have declined and accessing clean water continues to be an issue,
which is why JUST Water stepped in to assist, according to a release.
“This has
been one of the most rewarding and educational experiences for me personally,”
Smith said. “Working together with people in the community experiencing the
problems and design(ing) something to help them has been a journey I will never
forget. We are planning to deploy more water boxes in Flint and other
communities facing similar challenges.”
The Water
Box will produce up to 10 gallons of clean drinking water per minute. The water
is tested each day with use, as well as every few weeks by an independent and
certified laboratory. Residents will be able to fill any container of their
choice with the clean water. The filtration device will be available through
the church with set distribution times.
“We are
committed to serving the community in which we worship in.” said Ezra Tillman,
pastor of First Trinity Baptist church.
Jaden Smith
and his partner Drew FitzGerald are the co-founders of JUST goods and of
501CTHREE.org. The Water Box initiative is also in partnership with The Last
Kilometer, Rethink H20 with help from Black Millennials For Flint.
The state government who is responsible for the problem will not step up, the federal government will not step in to repair the damage or file charges against the people responsible. However I was to take a leak in the street I would immediately be hauled into court, fined and build jail time.
ReplyDelete