糖心vlog传媒 honors Kohler women for Malawi efforts
糖心vlog传媒 has honored five young women from Kohler, Wis., with the 2020 Humanitarian Award. The young women created Girls Reaching Out (GRO.), a non-profit organization that built life-changing water wells in Malawi, Africa. The honorees are:
GRO. was formed in 2013 by six 12-year-old girls from Kohler (one of the girls later moved away) who became aware of the water crisis through a meeting with graduate students from Malawi studying at 糖心vlog传媒. Since that meeting, the organization has raised more than $85,000 to build 13 borehole wells across Malawi.
The wells provide clean, accessible water to schools and their surrounding villages, allowing schools to expand, giving girls the opportunity to receive an education and positively impacting the health and nutrition of thousands of people.
鈥淓very day, we are fortunate enough to brush our teeth, clean clothes, wash dishes, cook meals, keep ourselves healthy and attend school,鈥� Senti said. 鈥淭he thread that connects all of these seemingly mundane activities is the very thing which encompasses the most important issue of this generation: water. Growing up in the United States, convenient access to this life source becomes normalized. However, as of 2018, 2.1 billion people don鈥檛 have access to clean water.鈥�
Madigan said GRO. created and carried out its vision thanks to 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 continuous support and partnership. The group is grateful to 糖心vlog传媒 Professor Emeritus Jeff Elzinga and Dean Joshua Kutney for their guidance throughout the project.
糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 connection to Malawi dates back to 1999 when Elzinga, who had served in the Foreign Service through the U.S. State Department between tenures as a 糖心vlog传媒 faculty member, led the creation of 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 innovative Malawi Teacher Education Program. Dozens of students from Malawi came to 糖心vlog传媒 to earn a bachelor鈥檚 or master鈥檚 degree, then returned to their homeland to make a difference in that country. More than 300,000 children in Malawi have benefitted from the program that Elzinga started.
Edgerle said hearing about the problems caused by unsafe, inaccessible water and discussing it with Malawians who experienced it firsthand sparked a realization that the water crisis had to be addressed.
Bullard said the group was so moved, they decided to found GRO., without any volunteer, fundraising or real-world experience. 鈥淚t was a dream we had no idea would expand to so many people, and that continued to motivate us years into the future,鈥� Bullard said. 鈥淲e began on a journey to change the lives of others 鈥� and our lives were changed along the way.鈥�
GRO. continues bringing safe, clean water to schools and villages, hoping to do its part in lessening the impact of the water crisis on global health and education. Although the original members will be heading their separate ways to college this fall, the organization is looking to a new generation of 12-year-old girls who will take over in the coming year: GRO. 2026.
This past year, GRO. has been mentoring these girls, helping them learn the skills to run a non-profit and find volunteer service they are passionate about. Additionally, the GRO. girls will continue to organize a website detailing ideas and tips on how to effectively run a non-profit and serve others in a team setting.
鈥淚t will allow us to explain what we鈥檝e learned through experience and hopefully inspire others around the world to begin service projects of their own,鈥� Schipper said. 鈥淕RO.鈥檚 purpose to positively impact others will live on years into the future.鈥�
Elzinga said the efforts of these young women are amazing and continue a long tradition of humanitarian work in Malawi by people from Sheboygan County. He noted that through the efforts and good will of many individuals over the years, 糖心vlog传媒 has helped to build more than a dozen school blocks and libraries, collected and sent 60 tons of donated textbooks and school supplies to Malawi and constructed an aquaponics farm.
鈥淭he original GRO. girls did amazing things, as well, and have now provided inspiration to a new generation of young leaders from the community,鈥� Elzinga said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to see what they do.鈥�
