Exonian Hamza Farrukh recognised for work providing communities with safe drinking water
Hamza Farrukh delivers a TEDx talk on solving the world’s water crisis
Exonian Hamza Farrukh (2013, Williams) has been honoured by the UK Prime Minister for his work providing safe drinking water to communities in Pakistan and South Sudan.
Hamza has been named a UK Points of Light by Number 10. The award recognises his work with Bondh-E-Shams / The Solar Water Charity, a non-profit organisation that he established in 2014 to help with water shortage in Pakistan. The organisation has already provided remote communities with over 18 million cups of safe drinking water through a sustainable and environmentally friendly solar-powered water extraction and filtration system.
Points of Light recognises people across the UK and Commonwealth for their outstanding work to help communities.
Following the award Hamza said: “At Bondh-E-Shams, we have promised to take on the global water crisis: lack of access to safe water in large swathes of developing nations is symptomatic of the numerous structural disadvantages faced by the global south.
“My team and I realise the responsibility we have towards the 1.2 billion people who go to bed thirsty each night, and are dedicated to this lifelong fight. Bondh-E-Shams has leveraged the power of smart-tech and I-o-T [Internet of things] in our flagship solution called the ‘Oasis Box’: a transportable, solar-powered water filtration unit that removes 99.99% of water contamination and can be installed in under a record seven minutes, anywhere in the world.
“I dedicate this award to my exceptional team, our partner non-profits and my family who have supported me unconditionally. I find this award as motivation to continue our work and reach thousands more in water-stressed communities – thank you again for this honour!”
