Ebersberg. A basic requirement for the survival of flood victims in Pakistan is clean, drinkable water. To help the people in Pakistan, the Rotary club in Ebersberg donated a so called "Paul".

It is a back-pack with which clear water can be purified.

For 3 years the Rotary club of Ebersberg-Grafing has supported a project from Franz Bernd Frechen: the professor at the University of Kassel invented the water back-pack Paul (Portable Aqua Unit for Lifesaving). The bag is about as big as a wheelie bin and weighs about 25 kilograms. Every day 1200 litres of water can be cleaned by it. Due to Nano filtration even the smallisted dirt particles and germs can be filtered from the water.

The advantage of the back-pack is its light weight and its flexibilty. It can be dropped by air and be delivered to isolated areas. The price for Paul is 1200 Euro. At the moment the unit is in the process of mass production, which could decrease the costs by 500 Euro.

Five Pauls have been brought to Pakistan in a one-off action from Frechen and his team. Robert Hoßfeld from the Rotary Club Ebersberg-Grafing was also involved in the mission. The five water back-packs will be used in the Swat Valley in North Pakistan. A further 17 Pauls were given to workers of the distaster control and transported to Islamabad with a NATO helicopter. The Humanity Care Organisation observes the usage and distributes the back-packs on site.