Anna Petrillo said it started with a question: if you had a million dollars, how would you make the world a better place?
The 15-year-old Hopewell Valley Central High School freshman said the answer just “popped up in my head.” She would help everyone in the world have clean water.
Petrillo recalled a previous classroom discussion about the current global water crisis. According to the World Health Organization, 844 million people are without access to clean water, and every 90 seconds a child dies from a contaminated water-related disease. If she had a million dollars, these are the people she would help.
Then the pastor of her church—that’s me—asked her another question. Why wait until you have a million dollars?
“That’s how we started the Calvary Baptist Clean Water Crew,” Petrillo said.
The CWC youth group of Calvary Baptist Church in Hopewell is raising $12,000 to support a clean water and sanitation project for a hill tribe village in northern Thailand managed by the Integrated Tribal Development Program. ITDP is a nongovernmental organization in Chiang Mai, Thailand dedicated to providing and improving village drinking water, irrigation and sanitation systems.
As pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, I felt it was important to choose an organization that had a successful track record of project completion, fiscal accountability and sustained community relationships. I want these kids to care about making a difference in the world, but I also want them to learn how to do it effectively. It is important to choose organizations that have the largest and most lasting impacts on people’s lives.
Setting a fiscal target of $12,000 wasn’t the only goal. The small youth group also wants to raise awareness about the current global water crisis. “So we made a rule,” Petrillo said. In order to reach at least 1,000 people, no one can contribute more than $12 to their project.
Petrillo said they don’t want one person writing a big check. “It is more important to make this the mission of many, instead of the charity of a few,” Petrillo said, adding that if people wanted to contribute more, they could help by asking others to donate.
In order to reach their goal, the group needed to partner with other community organizations. The Hopewell Council of Churches has been a great support to their group — particularly the youth group of Hopewell Presbyterian Church, which has already organized several fundraisers for the project.
Another invaluable partner has been the Global Connections Club at Hopewell Valley Central High School mentored by science teacher, Dr. David Angwenyi. The club agreed to collaborate with the small youth group on a 14-day “water challenge.”
Students and community members are asked to drink nothing but water for 14 days and donate the money they save from not buying coffee, soda and other soft drinks. The challenge began in March to commemorate World Water Day on March 22. The day focuses on advocacy for creating and sustaining clean water resources in developing countries.
‘It was heartbreaking to see people traveling miles over difficult terrain just to fill a jug of water.’
Senior Jeremy Borges, who is a member of the Global Connections Club, said two weeks without their morning coffee would be difficult for many students, but raising awareness about this issue is important. Borges has traveled to Kenya with a student group led by Angwenyi. He has seen first-hand how difficult it is for some people in the world to have access to clean water.
“It was heartbreaking to see people traveling miles over difficult terrain just to fill a jug of water,” he said, adding that it sometimes took several hours to fill one jug because the only water source came out a few drips at a time.
Angwenyi, who was born and raised in a small village in western Kenya, helped found the Hopewell Keroka Alliance. The group supports efforts to promote health, education and infrastructure improvements in western Kenya —including clean water resources. He said creating partnerships with other groups that have a shared mission increases the ability to help because it brings in more resources and broadens the groups areas of expertise.
“Collaboration with the community outside the school is very important because it makes it more realistic and not just an academic exercise,” he said. He added that outside partnerships also provide opportunities for mentorship and continuing support.
“We want service to others to be a life-long experience for these students,” he said.
Freshman Jane Bellaus. who is also a member of the CBCWC, said another important part of their project is getting people to be more responsible about their own water use. At first, it was hard for her to imagine not having access to something that she has taken for granted every day of her life. But when she learned how difficult it is for millions of people to get clean water, she reflected on how careless she had been with her own water use.
“Everybody can make a difference by just taking an extra second to think about how you can conserve water by making small changes in the way you do things — like washing your hands,” Bellaus said.
She added that helping the villagers in Thailand makes her feel like she is making up for her past wastefulness, adding that it is a good feeling to know that she will be helping to change lives in a single village for generations to come.
Emma Bean is the youngest member of the CBCWC. The precocious six-year-old is a kindergartner who attends Hopewell Elementary School and has already made personal changes to her own water use.
‘People who donate need to know they are making a difference in the world. Even though it’s only 12 dollars, they are saving lives.’
She said she only runs the shower long enough to get wet then turns it off. She soaps up without the water running and only then turns the shower back on to rinse off. Her mother, Samantha Bean, said that Emma is quick to remind her not to leave the water running at home and is also quick to remind classmates and teachers not to leave the water running when they are cleaning up at the end of the day.
“I’ve told everybody in my class about our water project,” Emma said. “I’ve told my teachers and even my principal.”
Emma and other CBCWC members — 6th grader Sara Petrillo and 5th grader Kevin Petrillo — turned their last birthday parties into water project celebrations. Instead of birthday gifts, they asked guests to make $12 donations.
Anna Petrillo said the CBCWC is building a website and planning a number of events to help raise awareness and reach their goal of $12,000 — including bake sales, benefit concerts and a 5-mile “Walk for Water” event this June. The group is also trying to optimize their use of social media and hopes that people will share information about their project with others.
Anna Petrillo says it’s a sad and serious thing that people don’t have access to clean water and are dying from water-born diseases — especially children.
“People who donate need to know they are making a difference in the world,” Petrillo said. “Even though it’s only 12 dollars, they are saving lives.”
For more information about the Calvary Baptist Clean Water Crew, the water challenge, or to donate, visit cbcwc.org.
Members of the Calvary Baptist Church Clean Water Crew: (front row) Emma Bean; (second row) Kevin Petrillo and Sara Petrillo; (back row) Anna Petrillo, Jane Bellaus and Christopher Immordino. (Photo by Dennis O’Neill.),
