Surfers launch Operation Monsoon

STU Bowen has joined forces with some of the world's top surfers to provide four million litres of clean, safe drinking water to the island of Sumba.

Children of the island of Sumba, Indonesia. Picture: Jason Childs

YAMBA'S Stu Bowen has joined forces with some of the world's top surfers, including Kelly Slater, in a campaign to provide four million litres of clean, safe drinking water to the people on the Indonesian island of Sumba.

Mr Bowen said the mission of Operation Monsoon was to prevent single-use plastic bottles from entering the environment while giving Sumbanese and Australians access to clean water.

Launched on the website, onebottleforlife.com, Operation Monsoon will donate water filtration systems to Sumba each time a water filtration pack is purchased here in Australia.

Claude Graves of the Sumba foundation said Operation Monsoon was a great initiative that would impact on the lives of many Sumbanese.

"Almost half of the 600,000 Sumbanese, just 500kms north of Australia, don't have access to safe water," he said.

"Waterborne disease dramatically escalates come monsoon season in December and it's a major cause of the high child-mortality rate".

Joining Kelly Slater in supporting the campaign are fellow champion surfers Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow and Dan Ross.

A keen surfer himself, Mr Bowen got involved with Operation Monsoon by joining forces with water filtration specialists Alkaway.com.au, Sumbafoundation.org and Onepercentfortheplanet.org to launch onebottleforlife.com.

Gaelan Brown, the marketing director of One percent for the planet, was encouraging people to become involved in Operation Monsoon.

"This is a unique campaign to address health, humanitarian and environmental needs through one simple business transaction," she said.

"Operation Monsoon could save over eight million bottles from entering our environment."

Two-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning urged Australians to buy a filtration pack.

"As a professional surfer travelling the world, I see the effects of pollution in the ocean and the shortages of clean water available to humanity," he said.

"While supporting Mother Nature, you are also giving someone a better opportunity at a healthier life."

During Operation Monsoon, people can buy a $475 water filtration pack with one AlkaStream bench-top filter and two Fill2Pure portable filter bottles.

For every pack purchased, one water-filter pump and 10 advanced filters will be sent to Sumba, providing 4000 litres of safe water.

Operation Monsoon runs for a month from October 11.

To purchase a pack or for more information, visit www.onebottleforlife.com

Originally published as Surfers launch Operation Monsoon