Now and then I hear about entrepreneurs and start-ups that are truly different. Lifestraw is the last one. It has completely blown my mind.

The problem: More than one billion people (one sixth of the world’s population) have no access to potable water. This of course translates into diseases and deaths. More than 6.000 people, most of them kids, die every day by consuming unsafe water.

The solution: Lifestraw, a disposable “medical device” designed to turn any surface water into drinkable water. To make it short, water that is sucked through the straw first passes through a mesh of “filters” and “spaces”, killing bacteria. It has proven to be effective against waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea, and removes particles as small as fifteen microns… More than enough to save millions of lives on the long run. It is cheap (less than $2, I heard), small, easily portable (just as a necklace), and it lasts one year.

Already in motion thanks to donations and philanthropy funds, it can become one of the greatests life savers in history and potentially transform the life of millions. I wonder how the entrepreneur connected the dots to bring this possibility to life.

For those willing to understand better how it works, check it here, at medgadget, the journal of emerging medical technologies. And here's an interview with the entrepreneur.

Social entrepreneurship can really change things.