The work of an elementary school is so fundamentally important in helping to develop and educate young minds. One Idaho school teacher decided to take her curriculum a step further then just the usual book learning.

Tricia Poppy of Longfellow Elementary was teaching a unit on Botswana in her third grade class but felt that teaching the unit in class shouldn’t be the end of it. While doing research on Botswana she came across an already established project Connect for Water had going on with a preschool in Botswana. Ms. Poppy reached out to Connect For Water and wanted to champion a project, raising funds at her school for filters.

She understood the impact that could be made and the education benefit from learning about a country and then getting her students engaged with problems that a classroom in Botswana would face, like not having clean water, which can be taken for granted in the U.S.

Because of this project, 20 filters are now providing clean water to classrooms at the Kgomodiatshaba Primary School. The class in Idaho was able to raise $500 which was matched by the school and then used to purchase the filters which are now used in the individual classrooms at the primary school providing clean water for the school kids.

There is so much power in such a seemingly small fundraiser that all it took was one teacher wanting to deepen the impact that her students would have while learning about another country. So she decides to make a difference in the lives of school kids and educators in a school in Botswana.

She not only made an impact on the lives of kids in Botswana, but the lives of kids in her Idaho community where her students had the ability to learn and connect with a problem and find a solution that helps the Botswana school kids in the long term.

Families in Huehuetenango, Guatemala are now enjoying a simple way to drink clean water. Through the generosity of Kohler and the coordinated efforts of Business Connect with their Guatemala team members at Cosas Mejores, Kohler Clarity units are entering into the market and making quite the impact!

With this seed money for market activation, families and households are receiving clean, safe water and they are empowered as well to be influencers for their respective communities. People have been talking to their neighbors, who then talk to their families and neighbors, promoting those who are starting businesses selling Kohler Clarity via word of mouth.

Market activation through seed money is one of the keys to sparking economic growth. To find out more about how Connect for Water is helping to raise up those starting their own businesses, check out our Angel Alliance Fund.

K-5 students from Grand Manan Elementary School, along with a generous matched donation from the Grand Manan Rotary Club allowed Connect for Water to provide clean, safe water to an entire school in the Dominican Republic and the surrounding neighborhood.

Our team went down to the Dominican Republic to help install the water filters in the school. We were able to put filters in every classroom at the school, including even in the administrative office.

Now that the filters are installed, every child has clean, safe water to drink during the school day. The students can focus better, they don’t miss as many school days from being sick, and don’t have to go to the doctor as much because of unsafe water.

While we were there, we also worked in the bateys with Hatian immigrants that live on roughly $1 per day. Having clean water available in their homes is truly life changing for these families.

Connect for Water would like to thank the students at Grand Manan Elementary and the Grand Manan Rotary Club for their commitment to providing clean, safe water around the world.

A Plan That Came Together

The goal of Connect for Water’s partner Business Connect is to bring clean water solutions to  people across the globe through sustainable business plans. We also celebrate success stories for when the plan works.

Mr. Walsh from the US contacted Darin, our Area Director of Sales for Africa, wanting to get help for Pastor Victor. Pastor Victor was struggling with water issues after the recent flooding at his orphanage in the rural community of Migoriwith in Kenya. They house 58 children (plus caregivers).

To Re-Cap:

• An individual seeing the need and choosing to go beyond himself to meet the need, put the Business Connect Family to work, stimulating local economy; all while getting clean water solutions to those in need.
• In this case 58+ individuals are now drinking bacteria free water and don’t have to travel the 18 km daily to collect safe water like they were doing.

• Peris herself had been interested in becoming a distributor for over a year but didn’t have the funds to buy initial inventory, so thru donor money, she was granted 10 Village filters to get started. And now is a critical link in this chain of productivity.
• There are many others hoping for the same boost. If you would like to be a part of their futures and get involved, This event happened only because of people like you that championed water filters for others. Click here to learn how you can become a C4W Champion. Click here to learn about other types of water filters available through our business partner, Business Connect, Inc. Connect with us to learn more about our water projects and how you can become a part of them – worldwide.