Daemen College Water Project

Mission Statement:

We will work to create a world where all have access to clean water and there is global awareness of the importance and need for protection of this valuable resource.

Background and Project Description:

Water is essential to life, yet 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. In the United States, we are fortunate to have safe drinking water available at the tap, while in some countries, clean water must be carried for miles. Worldwide, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death for children under age five and more than 80% of all diseases are caused by unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation.

Daemen College students have partnered with Blue Planet Run Foundation (BPRF) to help provide access to clean water to villages around the world. Students are engaging in educational coursework, campus activities and fund-raising to not only increase awareness about the need for clean freshwater worldwide, but also help implement water projects in individual villages.

In the summer of 2008, students began fund-raising for our first village project in Guatemala. We are raising money to provide better sanitation facilities at a community school. The installation of a rain catchment system with handwashing station will be directed by Agua Para La Salud, a nonprofit in Guatemala, which has successfully completed over 200 projects related to school facilities.

A new course in fall of 2008, Global Water Issues, will investigate the environmental, technological and health-related issues associated with the availability and quality of water worldwide. Case studies of global water problems will highlight these water problems in the context of socioeconomic and political issues.

In May of 2009, students plan to travel to Guatemala to visit a completed water project, participate in a project underway and identify other villages in need of future assistance. It is our hope that a personal connection with these villages will allow other opportunities of educational partnership to take place.

For more information, contact Dr. Brenda Young, byoung@daemen.edu, (716) 839-8366.