10 days program will fund wells in Rwanda

By Tina Nazerian     11/12/13 6:00pm

The 10 Days program of the Living Water International Project splashed its way to Rice Nov. 10, when students pledged to drink only water for 10 days and donate the money they would have spent on other drinks to help build water wells in five villages in Rwanda's Ruhango district, according to Rice Navigators service event coordinator Becca Buthe.

"The money that you would have spent on other beverages, you donate to the 10 Days program, which goes directly to Living Water," Buthe, a McMurtry College junior, said.

Michelle Won, another of the organizers, said 64 members have signed up so far and that students are still encouraged to join.

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"On Wednesday, I believe we'll be having a table outside Fondren Library again for people to drop by and sign up," Won, a Duncan College freshman, said.

Living Water creates clean water sources for people in third-world countries who do not have access to uncontaminated water, Buthe said. 

"A lot of times, you'll still have to use chlorine tablets or something to extra purify it and sanitize it," Buthe said. "People get water from boreholes and springs that are a lot dirtier."

Simply getting the water from the well to the home can be a problem for some people. Living Water wells provide easier access to water because they are closer to where people live, Buthe said. 

"Sometimes women have to walk 7 miles with those huge jerry pans that are 20 liters each, so [the wells] drastically [cut] down on the time they have to spend doing that," Buthe said.

Living Water International is a nongovernmental organization that works in 24 different countries, with Henry Proegler starting the 10 Days program six years ago at Texas A&M University, Buthe said.

"[Proegler] heard about the water crisis," Buthe said. "Back then it was a lot more, but now 738 million people lack access to clean water. He decided to sit outside with a table ... and [raised] money. It ended up turning into the Wells Project. It got adopted by Living Water."

Buthe said she believes giving up drinking everything except water will make students think about water with a new perspective. 

"It really forces you to see how much you need water and how much we take it for granted when we desire drinking so many other things [while] so many people don't even have a clean source of water," Buthe said. 

Sid Richardson College junior Natasha Cruz said the beauty of this project is that it causes students to get out of their comfort zones. 

"It causes you to really put yourself in the position of a lot of the people [who] don't even have access to clean water," Cruz said. "We take advantage of [water] so much." 

Buthe said the project is being run by campus ministries instead of a club this year.

"I was going to make it a club, but people [were] supporting me, and getting a professor or faculty member to support it was a lot of work," Buthe said.

Buthe said the project kicked off with a concert before pledges began their beverage fast Monday, Nov. 11. She said a closing event will be held Thursday, Nov. 21 and that Living Water will be releasing information about Ruhango throughout the week on its Facebook event page.

According to Buthe, Rice students who only drink water or get all their drinks from the serveries will have alternative donation methods.

"If you get all your drinks from the servery, we're going to be putting up posters about the equivalent of what it does cost," Buthe said.

Buthe said she is leading the program with Won, Baker College senior Isaac Chao and Duncan sophomore Kinsey Dittmar. 

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