Fighting for clean water





STUDENTS UNITE— I n recognition of World Water Day on March 22, Calabasas High School’s New Global Citizens service club hosts a two-day event to raise awareness of the issue of unsafe water and lack of sanitation in the world.

STUDENTS UNITE— I n recognition of World Water Day on March 22, Calabasas High School’s New Global Citizens service club hosts a two-day event to raise awareness of the issue of unsafe water and lack of sanitation in the world.

Although California is in a drought, most residents have access to clean drinking water.

But for millions of people around the world, potable water is not so easy to come by.

“Ending poverty begins with clean water,” said Brayden Ainsworth, a senior at Calabasas High School. “Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease, and we believe this is a major problem. Everyone deserves a chance to drink clean water.”

Brayden and Andrew Isaac, a junior at CHS, are co-presidents of the New Global Citizens service club at their school.

They said most people in the First World take clean water for granted and don’t realize that over 800 million people have no choice but to drink filthy water.

“Many lives are lost because people do not have access to clean water,” Andrew said. “We can and must do something about this.”

Working with about 30,000 students at 155 schools in 18 states, the New Global Citizens organization seeks to inspire youths to help solve the world’s greatest challenges.

The CHS chapter was founded six years ago by Andrew’s older sister, Emily.

“Her passion for helping those living in extreme poverty has opened my eyes to so many basic challenges that people face every day . . . like access to clean drinking water. So I knew when I began at CHS that I wanted to continue advocating for this remarkable club,” Andrew said.

In recognition of World Water Day on March 22, Andrew and Brayden and two dozen of their peers hosted a two-day event last week to raise awareness of the issue of unsafe water and lack of sanitation in the world.

They asked classmates to carry bottles containing cloudy water for the day as a symbol of empathy for the millions of people who have no clean water source.

“If people take a bottle and walk around with it for 24 hours, the idea is hopefully people will ask them about it and we will educate more people,” Brayden said.

The club distributed about 300 bottles of cloudy water and students raised $2,726, which will be donated to the Global Women’s Water Initiative that trains women in East Africa to bring sustainable water solutions to their own communities.

“I believe clean water is a natural human right,” said Andrew, who plans to study business marketing in college.

In addition to being a team captain and committee member for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Calabasas for five years, Andrew is a member of a local youth leadership program and president of the CHS student senate.

“My parents and grandparents have always stressed to me the importance of helping those less fortunate and being an active member in our community,” said Andrew, who also co-founded the community service organization Call to Action.

“For over 10 years we have been volunteering in our community and helping out by feeding the homeless, picking up trash, helping the Boys & Girls Club, sending care packages to our troops overseas with Operation Gratitude, holding a Trivia Fun Day at our local retirement home and much more,” he said.

Brayden volunteers at an elementary school twice a week and is a co-founder of the Pink Heart Charity. She plays volleyball and takes voice lessons, and her interests include writing songs and watching football and movies.

After graduation, Brayden plans to study communications, marketing and psychology.

“I want to go into education and particularly use media to educate kids on social issues,” she said.

Other New Global Citizens club leaders are Bardia Barahman, vice president, and Holly Ostovar, secretary.


 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *