F

or as long as he can remember,

Ben Cohens dream has been to
make the world a better place.
After the Haiti earthquake
of 2010, he found both the
inspiration and the focus to
get started.
The situation in Haiti really
moved me, Ben says. I saw
that water was one of those
specic areas in which, especially in
an emergency situation, people are most
vulnerable. That compelled me to do
something.
So in 2011, Cohen and fellow Georgia Tech
student Apoorva Sinha founded Tubing
Operations for Humanitarian Logistics
(TOHL) to develop a exible, mobile
piping infrastructure that can be installed
quickly over any terrain. For example, the
piping can be unwound from a helicopter
to an isolated village without a safe water
supply after a natural disaster.
TOHLs rst break came when the
government of Chile, a country with a
long history of devastating earthquakes,
provided initial funding. That allowed
Ben to quit his job and move to
South America.
I thought to myself: I can jump
in and do this 100 percent, or
I can stay in my traditional job
and say What if? Ben recalls.
There was no way I was going
to say What if so it was an easy
decision.
From dream to reality has been more
challenging, with obstacles ranging
from language barriers and skepticism
to bureaucracy and nancing. So far,
however, TOHL has connected about 600
people to potable water, with thousands
more to be added soon.
Our long-term goal is that everyone in
the world has access to water and in my
lifetime, thats possible, Ben says. There
are bumps along the road, but TOHLs
trajectory is forward. Because when you
follow your dream passionately, things
start to fall into place.
To learn more, visit thetohl.com.
10 AMERICANDREAMS | ENJOY LIFE
JUST ADD WATER
BEN COHEN TAPS INTO HIS DREAM
OF HELPING PEOPLE MOST IN NEED
1. Dont put a limit on what
you can do. People who follow
their dreams are the ones
who are successful in life.
2. Youll always have that
voice in your head that says:
What if you fail? But you also
have a positive voice in your
head. Listen to your positive
voice.
3. Dream during the day.
Literally, live your dreams. Let
your dreams be your life.
BEN COHENS KEYS TO DREAM SUCCESS
ENJOY LIFE | amfam.com 11
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