Campus organizations Alpha Chi and the McNair Scholars recently launched the “10 Days” project, a campaign to encourage college students to drink only water for 10 days and donate the money they would have spent on other beverages to help bring clean water to the Ruhango district of Rwanda.
The groups are working in partnership with Living Water International and senior Michelle Henry on the initiative. The project began on Nov. 11 and will last until Nov. 21.
According to Linda Thompson, director of the McNair Scholars Program, the project started with Henry, a McNair Scholar. In 2012, Henry conducted a research internship on water purification systems and how to build low-cost filtering systems to be used to retrieve clean water for poverty-stricken areas of the world. The next summer, Henry worked an internship in Rwanda with Living Water International.
“I got to see a lot and learn about drilling, placement and maintenance of wells,” Henry said. “I mainly worked in water quality testing with a portable laboratory that we brought from village to village.”
This year, Thompson said Henry brought the idea for the 10 Days project to her. Other schools such as Pepperdine University have been doing this project for years, but it is the first time Harding is participating in the fundraiser. The national service project for Alpha Chi this year planned to focus on global access to clean water sources, so Henry’s project idea was a perfect match, Thompson said.
“It’s important for Christians to be socially proactive to help alleviate the ills of the world, and Living Water International’s motto of ‘water for life in Jesus’ name’ is very fitting for Harding’s aims,” Thompson said.”Part of our community of mission is most certainly to reach out to help those in the world who don’t have the benefits we have, and clean water is acrucial need in manyareas of the world.One of thoseareas of dire need is Rwanda. I believe our students have giving hearts thatcare and want tohelp, and this is a relatively easy way to do it:‘Drink water to give water.’ It’s also a healthy challenge to drink water only for 10 days.”
Thompson said the goals for the initiative are to raise money to help provide clean water to under-resourced areas of the world, to raise awareness of the worldwide problem of poor drinking water and to promote healthy habits among students regarding drinking water.
Henry said that nationally, the goal is to raise $100,000, which would pay for six wells in Ruhango, Rwanda. But she also emphasized that this project is not only about the money.
“(The 10 Days project) is about being aware, not just about buying a water bottle and saving money,” Henry said. “It’s hard for us to give up those other drinks, but it’s really good to do because it makes you look at how you spend your money and think, how could that change the world?”
The fundraiser will close on Nov. 21 at 8 p.m., with a worship night hosted by Texas A&M University and broadcast live to all the schools participating in the initiative. The broadcast will play in McInteer 150.
