By Tiffany Feng
Staff Writer
Citizens of Samburu, Kenya will finally have access to clean drinking water after the new Samburu Project club raises money to build wells.
The Samburu Project club was founded this year by junior co-presidents, Liam Cook, Alyssa Castronuovo and Natalie Van Norman. The club hopes to raise awareness among young Americans about the lack of access to potable water for the country of Kenya, says Van Norman. The club will host fundraisers and volunteer for the non-profit organization, The Samburu Project, in order to raise money that will eventually be used by the charity to build wells in the city of Samburu, Kenya.
“For three years I have participated in events for the organization, which itself is amazing,” Cook said. “I decided to start this club when I interned for the non-profit over the summer. They wanted a way to reach high school students and I figured this was the best way to do it.”
Cook and Castronuovo interned at the Samburu Project organization during the duration of summer of 2016 and were able to experience what it was like working for a non-profit organization. The two worked on sending emails and putting together pamphlets in the office with Kiki Swanson, The Samburu Project’s project coordinator, in order to coordinate events and organize fundraisers. They also had the responsibility of applying for grants to government sectors and other individual donors and foundations by sending in applications with answers to questions pertaining to what the Samburu Project does.
“Interning over the summer was one of the best opportunities I’ve ever taken, even though I was often just sending emails, I always felt like I was making an impact,” Castronuovo said. “At the end of my internship I put together a video of the organization’s trip to Kenya and actually seeing the wells they built and how entire schools and communities were developing because of them was really inspiring. I was able to see every aspect of a nonprofit working all at once.”
The Samburu Project was created eleven years ago with the health of Samburu women and children in mind says Swanson. The organization organizes fundraising events such as walks and silent auctions and then uses the money to build wells in Samburu. The nonprofit hopes to accomplish more in collaborating with the Samburu Project club, who they hope will get more involved with their mission by planning fundraising events and also volunteering for their events says Swanson.
Link: Learn more about the Samburu Project
“I love what a huge impact our small organization can make by providing the simple solution of building wells to the extraordinary problem of a lack of access to clean water for Samburu people,” Swanson said. “In just eleven years, we have been extremely successful in providing water for over 84,000 people in Samburu.”
The club will help the non-profit raise money by helping out at its fundraising events such as the annual Walk for Water, a 4-mile walk in Hermosa Beach that occurs every spring and raises money for the Samburu water crisis by requiring a signup fee from participants which eventually goes to funding the drilling of water wells. Club members will also hold their own fundraisers such as events at restaurants and garage sales in the upcoming months.
Link: Past Walk for Water fundraiser events
“It is unreasonable that even in the 21st century, many places of the world, such as Samburu, do not have access to basic necessities like clean water,”club treasurer and junior Katherine Elias said. “Our club will help to provide these communities with access to clean water, which will lead to an improvement in their overall health. It is vital that such resources are brought to these areas before any further progress in that can be expected.”
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