Abstract: The LifeStraw looks simple. But it has the potential to save many lives.  Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen didn't set out to help millions of people get access to safe drinking water. At the age of 19, he dropped out of school and moved to Nigeria to sell trucks.  But when a political coup forced him to leave Africa and return to his native Denmark in 1992, he reluctantly agreed to join the family textile business if he could focus on relief-aid products. 
His experience in Africa and later working with the Carter Center in Atlanta…convinced him that people in developing countries needed a simple, durable device to purify water.

The result was the LifeStraw, a personal, portable water purifier that eliminates virtually all waterborne bacteria and most viruses responsible for causing diarrheal diseases. The product, which costs as little as $3, has won a number of awards, including the 2008 Saatchi & Saatchi Award for World Changing Ideas.

Published: Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2008
Authors: Jilian Mincer

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121372818319181665.html