Class project becomes something bigger

When Kaitlyn Turney received a semester-long assignment, she was not expecting it to turn into a permanent part of the university.

Turney, a junior speech-language pathology major, and three others in the Children in the Global Community class created an advocacy project to raise money and awareness for clean drinking water for children in India.

The students became aware of the issue after researching various concerns and countries. Akina Dimock, a junior child development major and another creator of the project, said the issue stood out to her because she saw students walking around with bottles of water every day and realized how fortunate she was to have this luxury.

After watching a video about how individuals in India sometimes drink unclean water because of old spiritual beliefs, Dimock said, “It was extremely saddening because the people are not aware of how the water is hurting them.”

Turney said she learned 68 out of 1,000 children in India die before the age of five, and unsanitary drinking water is the main cause of these deaths. 

The group set up a web page through WaterAid, an online program that helps raise money for clean water in India. Individuals can log on and donate to the cause, Turney said.

The project has raised $383 so far, and their goal is $1,000.

“A lot of people have showed interest about the topic, so we are in the beginning stages of making a permanent organization on campus to raise awareness about children and global issues,” Dimock said.

Numerous issues involving children exist around the world that people are unaware of, Dimock said, and the goal is to start an organization that will bring more attention to them.

“The new organization would raise awareness about the issues concerning children, because people can’t do anything about these problems if they don’t know that they exist,” Dimock said. 

To make a donation for clean water for children in India and find more information, students can visit www.wateraid.org.