Elle's Bat Mitzvah Campaign for Water

Hello, my name is Elle Smiley. This year, I will be becoming a Bat Mitzvah. For my Mitzvah Project, I have decided to partner with the The Water Project to help bring clean, fresh water to the Jamulongoji Primary School in Western Kenya. Every day, 480 pupils show up to school carrying jerrycans of various sizes. The children are then sent off on a trek to the nearest spring to fill their cans with water. "These trips are tiresome and time-consuming, and they waste most of the morning remedial learning and sometimes the first lesson. Later, the pupils are also required to bring water back to school after lunch. This is the only way the entire student body plus the 18 teachers and staff get water for all of their drinking, cooking, and cleaning needs." - Joan Were, Field Officer at the Jamulongoji Primary School. These trips can also cause various injuries, especially during the rainy seasons of the year. "As the Deputy Head Master, my mandate is to deal with cases concerning students. I never get a break in my office because the pupils often come to complain about how someone injured them or broke their jerrycan as they were scrambling for water at the spring." - Teacher Andrew Lung’aho.

My goal, along with my family's, is to help end these tiresome, painful hikes. Our goal is to raise enough money to build a rainwater catchment that can be put in place at the school to help provide clean, safe water for bathing, drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Here is some information about a rainwater catchment: "Rainwater is collected off strategic areas of a roof, enters a custom guttering system (which filters out debris) and leads to a storage tank. Tanks can vary in sizes and are determined by population and average rainfall patterns. Water can be stored for months, is easily treated in the tank, and is accessible through taps. These projects are implemented at schools with proper roof lines and gutter systems to make them successful." - Unknown. I hope you will help us to provide clean water for these schoolchildren by donating to our cause. No donation is too small, and any amount helps. Our goal is $5,000. All donations are much appreciated. Thank you for your help!