A staggering 663 million people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water, a statistic Founder of 663toZero Mitch Horrocks hopes to change at its first Brisbane event at Finney Isles on Sunday 10 February.

In 2017, Mitch founded 663toZero, an organisation that aims to reduce the number of people without access to clean drinking water to zero. Horrocks designed and created a piece of equipment, the Okuzi, that allows people to create clean drinking water while cooking a meal for the family, removing the cycle of sickness, and hopefully reducing the cycle of poverty. The equipment can be made by people in their community and incorporated into their daily cooking ritual, therefore not requiring the user to learn new processes or take any extra time or source more fuel to provide their family with clean drinking water. Best of all, it only costs $1.50 AUD to make.

In 2017, the team ran two hugely successful events in Melbourne and Sydney, raising thousands of dollars, positively changing the lives of thousands of Ugandans. It also allowed a small group of Australian volunteers to visit the communities they are working with. Jeremy Spencer, one of the driving forces behind the 663toZero in Australia, visited Uganda with the group. “For me, our trip to Uganda meant a lot of things … the people, the place and the project. But I can’t help going back to the people. We can all learn a lot from them.”

In February 2019, 663toZero will host its first ever Brisbane event, seeing five bars across the city host an evening of pop up bars, with all proceeds being donated to the cause. Featuring The Gresham, The Bowery, Brooklyn Standard, Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, plus the first event from the soon to open Lucky Duck Club.The event will see some of Australia’s best bartenders and bars throw a party like no other, all to raise money to help people in Ugandan communities have safer lives.

In just under five months, 663toZERO helped provide 24,000 people with access to clean drinking water, saving lives in the process. 663toZero now has a permanent team of 10 full-time Ugandans working with members of rural Ugandan communities to provide them access to ‘OKUZi’.

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