Page 255 - The Power to Change Anything

244 INFLUENCER

Hours that could have been spent in more fruitful or even
enjoyable activities are expended walking back and forth to a
pool while hauling a heavy pot. If this isn’t bad enough, the
pools these dedicated women hike to and from are often teem-
ing with water fleas that are, in turn, filled with Guinea worm
larvae.
Earlier we explained that change agents from The Carter
Center had learned that villagers who filtered the water through
their skirts had diminished the Guinea worm disease problem.
Let’s add some more detail to that project. In order to make it
easier to filter the water effectively (many skirts didn’t filter the
water very well), The Carter Center set out on a campaign to
develop an affordable and long-lasting cloth filter. People at the
center knew that if they could find a way to get an effective,
efficient, and durable filter into the hands of everyone who
drew water, the parasite could be eliminated.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in his work with the
center, explained how this all-important filter came about:

I went to see Edgar Bronfman, whose family owned
about 20 percent of E.I. DuPont Company. I asked
Edgar if he would donate $250,000 over a five year
period, which in those days was a lot of money. He asked
me, “What are you going to use the money for?” And I
answered: “The best way to do away with the Guinea
worm is to pour water through a very fine filter cloth.”
And he said, “Like this napkin on the table?” And I said,
“Yes.” “Then why don’t you use napkins?” he asked. I
explained, “Well, because if you take this napkin and wet
and dry it eight or ten times a day, in the tropics it’ll rot
in a couple of weeks.” And he responded, “Well, maybe
we could help.”
Bronfman took the case to the DuPont board of directors,
which knew of a company in Switzerland that produced a
nylon fiber that would likely serve this purpose—a fiber that