Daniel's isearch

Daniel S. isearch

What We Did-

A group of friends and I raised money to build a well in Sierra Leone. We built the well through a company called The Water Project. In order to build a well in Sierra Leone it would costs$4,500. So far we have raised over$4,000 by educating our friends relatives and strangers on the problem and then asking for donations. We also sold water balloons and cookies to people who we had told our mission to.

What I learned-

I learned a lot about the issue of water in not just Sierra Leone but all of Africa. Sometimes people have to walk up to ten miles just to get fresh water so that they don’t die of dehydration. Another problem is that the water they get is very unclean and carries many waterborne diseases. I learned about how bad the problem was and then, I wanted to help.

I also learned how fortunate I am to have such easy access to water and hospitals. When I am thirsty and want some water all I have to do is turn a faucet on and then I get clean water. When people in Africa need water they have to walk long distances and then don’t even get clean water. Even if I do get a waterborne illness, which would be unlikely, I could get easy access to a hospital and I would be fine after a short amount of time. People in Africa get small illnesses and sometimes die because they can’t get good enough care to help them recover.

As I learned more and more about the water issues in Africa I only wanted to help more. Then we got the opportunity to do an action project and I really wanted to help these people. The well will give a whole community access to water without having to walk very far. It is amazing how a group of fourteen year olds can help so many people.

Ben's iSearch

Doing this action project was very eye opening to me. I learned so much for instance, 1.5 million children die every year from waterborne illnesses, some people in Africa walk 3 miles each way to get water that normally isn’t even clean, and that children miss a ton of school from those diseases. Another thing that I learned about fundraising was that people want to donate to good causes like ours so us knowing our facts about it was super helpful. During this project I felt really guilty and proud of myself at the same time. I felt guilty, because I have all of the resources that none of the people in Sierra Leone have. I have running water, medicine, hospitals, etc. I also feel proud of myself at the same time, because of the amount of people I am going to be helping. The well serves over 250 people. Also, something else that I learned while doing this that made me proud was that every ten dollars gives a person clean drinking water for an entire year. So, the fact that we are going to raise 4500 dollars is really amazing. Although we have raised 4155 dollars, I do feel really bad. I feel this way, because besides the eighty dollars we raised on Earth Day we have not done anything to get the money besides sending the e-mails to family and friends. Saying that, I think that we are going to try and either do a bake sale or a low water car wash or something since I know that Leah and I, and most likely Ellery and Daniel, feel the same way that I do. Lastly, i am glad that we were able to do this project and I know that it will make a huge difference in peoples lives.

Almost There!

Hey, everybody!

First off, I'd like to be sure to thank everybody who has been so generous to our project.  This wouldn't be possible without you, so all of us on the We Dig Water team are so appreciative for you and your donations.  I'm sure the families in Sierra Leone are thankful, too.

However, the end of school is approaching quickly (June 3rd), and we still have about $600 to go!  For anybody who's reading this who hasn't donated, I'd be so happy if you could pitch in -- even just a couple bucks would be amazing.  Of course, if you've already donated but are feeling super generous, feel free to donate again!  We will be having either a bake sale or car wash (using a low amount of water) soon to raise some money, the details of which will be posted here on our blog for those who are interested.

We'd really like to put in a final little push to finish the project by the end of school, but, of course, we'd all be more than happy to continue our work into Summer if that's what it takes.

And again, thank you so much to everybody who has helped us make this project a success.  You have helped so much, and we cannot express our gratitude enough.