In many a China emergency, American Jim Ellis is there, providing clean drinking water for earthquake survivors and victims of a typhoon, a chemical spill and blue algae.
Throughout more than 40 years of doing business, American entrepreneur Jim Ellis has always based his enterprises on providing basic needs such as shelter and clean drinking water.
But it wasn't until the devastating Sichuan earthquake on May 12 last year that the former construction boss and maker of water filters was able to make a vital difference in lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable people.
Ellis and employees of his company Paragon Water Systems flew into Sichuan just three days after the earthquake to install water filters in temporary tent cities. In many cases, he provided the only clean drinking water.
One of the first foreigners allowed into the affected areas, Ellis and his team worked virtually non-stop for 15 days to install water filters and train local operators in 20 cities and towns.
The filtration system they installed is capable of supplying water to 10,000 people a day. The systems were flown in from Canada within 48 hours of the quake.
Still haunted by the devastation, Ellis says his enduring memory is of the strength and resilience of the survivors and helpers.
"I have never seen so many people come together to help each other, there was so much devastation," he says. "The army was unbelievable; these young soldiers were out there digging through rubble with their bare hands, and putting up tents 24 hours day. The strength of the people in Sichuan in the face of something so dramatic and tragic was really amazing."
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