By Maggie Robak
Copy Editor
Every year, students bring their individual interests and ideals by creating their own club. This year, the Mira Costa Tribe joins the many Costa clubs. Sophomore Natasha Brunstein, junior Sahir Deepak, sophomore Sophie Haas-Goldberg, and sophomore Jamie Kelleher brought this organization to Costa this year.
The club is a smaller extension of the widespread national organization, The Samburu Project. The main goal of the project is to provide clean and safe drinking water to communities throughout the Samburu District in Kenya by digging different wells.
According to the project’s mission statements, “The Samburu Project is an organization that collaborates with communities in developing countries to enhance men, women and children’s daily lives by providing resources that address immediate needs while promoting long term sustainability and self-sufficiency along with cultural integrity.”
The non-governmental organization was started in 2005 by Kristin Kosinski, who decided to start the project after traveling to Kenya. After seeing the lack of clean drinking water facing many villages, Kosinski launched the Los Angeles-based project when she returned home. Since then, she has been reaching out and trying to expand her organization.
“I first became involved in the project when Kristin came into my Intro to Model United Nations class last year,” Haas-Goldberg said. “I liked that it is such a local organization but still makes an impact on such a global level.”
Brunstein, Kelleher, Haas-Goldberg and Deepak took up an internship with the project’s branch in Santa Monica and decided to create a Mira Costa chapter of the Samburu Project, working over the summer in order to launch the club this year. The students created a website establishing their goals for the project as well as a mission statement. The students also worked to launch their Tribe at Costa as well as the Pacific Palisades High School.
“We wanted to start a club at Costa so we could get more people involved in the organization to further help the people of Kenya,” Haas-Goldberg said. “We want to spread the mission of this project to as many people as we possibly can.”
The club will take part in local fundraisers, as well as participate in larger, widespread activities. The club is also focused on expanding the involvement and awareness of the Samburu Project and its mission.
“Mira Costa Tribe hopes to further the efforts of the Samburu Project by allowing high school students the opportunity to become involved in its mission,” Brunstein said. “The club aims to spread the objectives of the organization to adolescents and increase local involvement in the Samburu Project.”
The Tribe Club hopes to partake in a number of activities this year to help further its goals. The club held fundraisers at the Hometown Fair, restaurants and benefit shows. They will be participating in Walk for Water and the Manhattan Beach Earth Day Celebration. The club is hoping to hold an assembly to teach school and elementary school students about the importance of water conservation.
“Through fundraising, promoting green practices and raising awareness for the cause, the club hopes to enhance the lives of the Samburu people,” Brunstein said. “It is exciting as these villages have seen advancements in community health, women’s empowerment, education and income.”
The Mira Costa TRIBE meets every week in Room 34 on Wednesdays at lunch to discuss how they can meet their current goals.
“When you’re so young, and you want to get involved in something that truly makes an impact on society on a global level, its near impossible,” Brunstein said. “To be given the chance to get involved with an organization that is locally based but also has a great global impact, is really extraordinary.”
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