Jaden Smith is providing a new water filtration system to Flint residents, because sometimes heroes come from unexpected places.
Residents of Flint, Michigan, have been without clean water since 2014. Many residents must resort to using bottled water for all of their everyday needs, which costs a ton of money. And now that it's been five years since the crisis began, donations have started to slow down.
Enter Jaden. The 20-year-old is the owner of an eco-friendly bottled water company, Just Water. The company is teaming up with local organizations in Flint to provide cleaner water to residents. They're setting up a "Water Box," a mobile water filtration system that removes lead from the local water. Flint residents can use the box to filter their water once per week.
The Water Box isn't a replacement for, say, a safe municipal water system, but it's definitely helpful in the meantime.
Jaden Smith is the son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He's most famous as a singer and actor.
But over the past couple years, Jaden has also been hard at work on a new project: an eco-friendly bottled water company.
The company is called Just Water. The bottles are made mostly from paper, and the caps are made from sugar cane.
Jaden and his company are now teaming up with local organizations in Flint to provide clean water to citizens.
Jaden and Just Water are working with the First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, along with organizations like the Last Kilometer, Rethink H20, Black Millennials for Flint, and 501CThree.
They're providing the church with a Water Box, which is an innovative water filtration system. The box is mobile, and it's reported to remove lead from drinking water, rendering it safe to drink.
The Water Box will be available at the church from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Citizens can come with their own containers to filter as much water as they need. Meanwhile, Jada Pinkett Smith will donate money toward finding a more long-term solution for Flint citizens.
The Smiths' intervention is desperately needed.
The citizens of Flint have not been able to safely use the water from their tap faucets since April 2014. That's five years.
The water crisis began when the city switched to a new water source to save money. The new water was more corrosive, and it flowed through lead pipes, becoming smelly and brown.
For years, countless residents have been forced to use bottled water for their everyday needs, including cooking and showering. Bottled water is expensive and wasteful — but it remains many people's only option.
Activists like Little Miss Flint, as well as the First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, work tirelessly to provide bottled water to residents.
But donations have started to slow down lately at the church. Hence, Jaden's Water Box.
The water crisis in Flint has eroded many residents' trust in the government. Officials repeatedly told Flint residents that the water was "fine" and safe to drink when it was, in fact, basically poison.
The city is working on replacing the lead-tainted water lines, and the mayor says they're ahead of schedule so far. But it will still be several years before the lead pipes are completely gone, and scientists say that no amount of lead is completely safe to consume.
Needless to say, fans are incredibly proud of Jaden's decision to step in.
Some people criticized the media for not giving more attention to Jaden's efforts — but others pointed out that Jaden's work isn't really about the press; it's about the people. And that's admirable.
As one Twitter user wrote, Jaden's work in Flint is a perfect example of how celebrities can use their resources to help people.
Jaden has the money and the heart to help out.
On the other hand… why should it fall to Jaden, a 20-year-old private citizen, to fix a crisis that was created by the city and state government?
It's horrifying and mind-blowing that government officials have continued to allow Flint to go without clean water for five years. This is America in 2019.
It's not Jaden's job to fix this problem, but clean water is clean water, and every hand on deck counts.
