Tyler Student: Bottled Water Saves Lives
Caroline Young
By Kelly Prew
Youth Editor
It's usually no big deal to grab a bottle of water and head to class, the gym or work. Tylerites have no trouble turning on a kitchen faucet and filling dinner glasses.
Youth Editor
It's usually no big deal to grab a bottle of water and head to class, the gym or work. Tylerites have no trouble turning on a kitchen faucet and filling dinner glasses.
But there are people in the world right now struggling to find water - clean water - to sustain life. According to information released by Brighton during its campaign to supply clean water to Kenya, more than 1.1 billion people on the planet, one out of every six, do not have access to this basic human need.
Caroline Young, of Tyler, is doing her part to change that statistic, one bottle of water at a time. Teaming with Brighton, Miss Young hopes to raise $5,000 to fund freshwater wells for 10 hospitals in Kenyan villages where they are most needed.
She is selling bottles of water for $20 each, the amount of money it takes to supply one person in the country with water for 20 years.
"My main goal is $5,000, but I would love to raise more," the Southern Methodist University sophomore told the Tyler Paper this week. "If $20 will save a life, give a kid water for 20 years ... it is amazing how far it will go."
Miss Young said she was moved to participate in the campaign after seeing photos and a video of conditions in the country.
"I have learned a little bit about it, and have watched the video on the Brighton Web site," she said. "Kids have to walk miles and miles to get drinking water, and then you see the pictures of them carrying this disgusting water that I don't think my dog would drink.
"I would love to help as many people as I can."
Miss Young sent out letters to friends, asking for help, and hopes any outreach to the Tyler community will garner more.
Miss Young sent out letters to friends, asking for help, and hopes any outreach to the Tyler community will garner more.
The initiative is sponsored by Brighton Accessories, where her mother, Laura, serves as president of sales and marketing. The company has designed a limited-edition line for the cause that features Kazuri Beads handmade by women in Kenya.
Sharon Young Boutique in Tyler has the collection available for purchase, and a portion of each sale will go toward the cause. The bottled water is available for purchase from Sharon Young and Karen Horton & Co.
The boutique also has wrist bands available for $5, and all proceeds of those sales go toward the project.
Brighton is partnering with charity:water, which has funded more than 600 projects, including building wells, rainwater catchments and bio sand filters in 11 nations.
Upon reaching the $5,000 goal, Miss Young will fly to Kenya and join others involved in the project to watch a freshwater well being drilled.
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