Leon McLaughlin shines shoes in Seattle. He is also responsible for bringing clean water to poor people in Bolivia. He has been responsible for the installation of water-filtration machines in 10 hospitals and 10 schools. One might ask how a guy that shines shoes for a living could be responsible for bringing clean water preventing death and disease to poor people in the Third World. At the very least it puts to shame all the fat-assed, selfish Americans who think about nothing more than how to lower their taxes and make more money for themselves. And complain if the government helps anyone out.
This is from an article by Nicole Brodeur in the Seattle Times:
"There is such a need," McLaughlin said the other day. "Two million children are dying a year, 1.2 billion people are hurting from waterborne illnesses. We have to bring that number down to zero."
It's a tough thing to wrap your mind around: A man who hunches over people's feet all day, offering one of life's little luxuries, who then stands up and travels thousands of miles to get the neediest what everyone deserves: potable water.
"You can give a person food, clothes and medicine," he said, "but without clean water, what good is that?"
McLaughlin, in Seattle for 31 years, has always had a mind for business. He sold coffee machines in Vancouver, worked for the Seattle Repertory Theater, has a real-estate license and has owned his shoeshine stand since 1989.
There is so much potential to do so much good in the world. Seattle's other philanthropist, Bill Gates, sits atop the Gates Fondation with a $30 billion fund. They also do a lot of good in the world. But here is a guy who shines people's shoes making a big difference for hundreds if not thousands of poor people whose single greatest need is clean water. It is estimated that there are a billion people worldwide withourt clean water, and much of the world's sick and dying are because of lack of clean water. I'm reminded of the story in the Bible in which Jesus said that the poor woman who had given a couple of cents had given more than the rich man who had given hundreds of dollars because for the poor woman it was the last of her money whereas for the rich man he had plenty more. If Mr. McLaughlin can figure out how to help poor people, why can't the government of the US? It's because their philosophy for the last 30 years was to privatize everything even water delivery systems. Hopefully now, instead of trickle down economics we'll have an era of trickle up as Mr. McLaughlin exemplifies. I'm just blown away by this man's goodness and his example.
He founded his own company, LAM (his initials and an acronym for Land and Water Maintenance), to bring a water-filtration machine to developing countries. LAM buys the machines for $8,500, then donates them to World Vision. McLaughlin takes a small commission, which he says he puts back into the project.
LAM's first success was the installation of a filtration machine in Bolivia in 2007. The machine generates 740 gallons of clean water per hour.
Back home, McLaughlin takes advice from customers. Money people, business people and $600-per-hour lawyers who give him free counsel — along with $5 for the shine.
"The only thing I ever did was get Leon to exercise his potential," said retired attorney Robert Radcliffe, 81, who met McLaughlin when he represented him in an automobile-injury case and stayed close. He's a regular customer.
McLaughlin mainly sees the potential for other lives.
"With this trip, we can let the world know that we have all these children dying," he said. "This situation is urgent."
After the World Bank and IMF insisted that Bolivia turn over water provision to privatized companies, most poor people could not afford the price for clean water. They went back to drinking dirty water and dying of water borne diseases. In addition women were forced to haul water which took a large chunk of their time each day which they could have been using more productively at home.
This is from another article:
At $5 a pair ($8 for boots), shining shoes doesn't pay the bills. McLaughlin also sells real estate and works nights as an usher at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.
McLaughlin came to Seattle from his native Cleveland when he was 22 as staff adviser for the Paramount Theatre and worked there until the early 1990s before moving full time to the Seattle Rep and investing in real estate. In the mid-1990s, he started a business in Canada selling coffee-making equipment and began traveling back and forth from Vancouver.
The business sparked his interest in water, which grew as he traveled and discovered water problems around the world. Finally, when he began to research different water companies, he saw the growing investment in water management.
"This stuff is just like oil," McLaughlin said. "This stuff is going to be a commodity."
The United Nations Development Programme estimated that almost 2 million children die every year due to contaminated water sources, and about 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe water.
So, McLaughlin went back to school and studied water maintenance through online classes at Sacramento State. After forming LAM (his initials and an acronym for Land and Water Maintenance), he partnered with Federal-Way based World Vision to bring the first six machines to Bolivia.
McLaughlin hopes to apply for grants to install the machines in communities, instead of just disaster areas — the next two will be at a school and a hospital — in each of the 59 countries World Vision works in.
"It's like you have a coffee shop on every corner, but instead you have clean water in every village," he said.
LAM buys the filtration machines for $8,500 from First Water, then donates them to World Vision through a nonprofit. For each unit sold, LAM gets $2,000 in commission, which McLaughlin said he puts back into technical support for the distribution and upkeep of the machines. McLaughlin said he doesn't take a salary.
Dean Salisbury, associate director of World Vision's global supply-chain management unit, said they wanted a company that would donate the machines, provide free transportation, free tech support and free maintenance.
McLaughlin was the only one willing to do that without being concerned about the costs.
"His goal in life is not to make money, but to help people," Salisbury said. "It's very refreshing in the corporate world."
I can't get over what good one man has done without corporate support or gazillion dollar budgets. Just think what could be done if his efforts were replicated and beefed up. It puts to shame the efforts of most governments and private foundations. This man deserves a Nobel Prize for what he has accomplished singlehandedly!
Check out the comments on this link after folks had seen the piece on Leon on the NBC Nightly News.
Here are some of them:
McLaughlin is a hero. Just saw the story on the Nightly News. Its an inspiring example to see how one man can make a difference even if he is not wealthy. Makes think to myself "what have I done today that has helped someone in need?"
What a great guy! How is it that everyday someone who makes such a difference in the world is overlooked by the people that pass him by. Makes you think about the cleaners, dishwashers, garbage men/women, and see that they too can make a difference that is more than anyone would expect. Because of his actions it will inspire many to give, including me. Leon McLaughlin is my Hero.
This was a truly inspirational story. People dream of making a difference in the world and he has figured out how to give clean water- a basic need we take for granted- to people who desperately need it, without changing their culture.Can Leon McLaughlin share how much each water filtration system costs? How can donations be made to his foundation?
