HARBEL, Liberia (Sept. 8) — Bridgestone/Firestone, through its Firestone Natural Rubber Co. subsidiary, is making room on its cargo ships to send four large trucks owned by Living Water International to Liberia. Living Water International, a non-profit organization, specializes in repairing water pumps and drilling wells in countries that lack safe drinking water.
Bruce Whitmire, vice president of African programs for Living Water International, praised BFS for cutting the organization's overhead by providing shipping free of charge. Three teams from Living Water Carolinas, an affiliate of the international organization, are already in Liberia helping with the nation's clean water efforts, and a fourth will go to Liberia by the end of the year, BFS said.
At 240 square miles, the BFS natural rubber plantation near Harbel is the world's largest.