Care Canada Takes Note

op 5 nnovations for ocial Good in 2019 T he word “Innovation” may have become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, but when it comes to making the world a better place, Care Canada’s says it can’t be used enough. Here are some of the charity’s favourite innovations from the past year.

1WAT FILT ING ST AWS Access to clean water that is close to home is one of the biggest issues people around the world face in terms of health and well-being. So what if there were a straw that filtered water? You get were we’re going with this. LifeStraw filter removes 99.9 percent of bacteria and 96.2 percent of viruses. It was first created for people in emergency conditions and those living in developing countries without enough fresh clean water. Now, it’s become popular for travellers as well. 3 SMA T FA MS There are millions of people around the globe who don’t have access to food, and with the changing climate, those numbers ill only increase. Enter the smart farm. The founders of AeroFarms say it uses a technique for indoor farming that uses 95 percent less water than field farming. Even more innovative is that rather than grow in dirt, these crops grow in a reusable cloth made from recycled water bottles and are crops are watered with a gentle mist to use the least amount of water possible. According to co-owner Marc Oshima, AeroFarms has already produced crops like kale and arugula at scale, and has sold them to large grocery store chains and even an airline. 4 CO-F I NDL PADS Feminine hygiene products are often wasteful and sustainable alternatives can be expensive, not to mention many women and girls in developing countries don’t have easy access to them. The founders of Saathi pads in India created pads made from banana fibers that are 100 percent biodegradable and also helps local farmers and employs underprivileged women to produce the pads. Saathi pads are “a hygienic, effective alternative to improve the lives of women without creating any negative environmental impact,” according to Kristin Kagetsu, one of the company’s co-founders, and estimates that more than 6,000 women in India now use Saathi pads.

2A VACUUM FO T OC ANS We all know that our oceans are vastly polluted with plastics and other man-made materials, damaging and killing marine life. That’s where the 4Ocean Mobile Skimmer comes in. It’s essentially a vacuum cleaner for oceans that has large arms to collect garbage and requires just a few people to run it.

“Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” - Albert Szent-GyÖrgy, Nobel Prize Winning Scientist

5L CT ICIT TO GO Easy access to reliable electricity is something many of us in North America may take for granted. While power is widely available, in many parts of the world, it’s sporadic. While attending a complicated birth in Nigeria, American obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Laura Stachel experienced firsthand how power outages can mean life or death in certain parts of the world. So Dr. Stachel decided an easy-to-use, portable source of power was the solution, one that could run lights for a delivery room along with a fetal heart monitor. This became the first Solar Suitcase. Dr. Stachel’s organization has now shipped nearly 4,000 units to 27 developing countries.

Ca e Canada is a registered charity which helps women and girls in developing countries lift themselves and their families out of poverty and out of crisis. This insight feature is published here with their permission.