The water girl

Instead of celebrating her sweet 16th unwrapping gifts, schoolgirl Sarah Taylor exchanged her promised presents for funds to fulfill her birthday wish and finance two water wells being constructed in Africa.

The St Christopher’s Year 11 pupil raised more than $10,000 (BD3,770) over a three-month period to finance the project.

She received inspiration from her father, Daniel, head of operations at a real estate company, who gave up his 43rd birthday gifts three years ago to raise money for Charity Water, the organisation behind the project.

Sarah, then 13, waited until her ‘most important’ birthday to make an even bigger impact. The American-born teenager from A’ali, said: “I told everyone I didn’t want any presents and asked for money. Initially I hoped to raise $5,000 but I raised just over $10,000!

“When I was 13, my dad gave up his birthday presents to raise funds for the same cause and that’s when I decided I was going to do it one day too. I waited until my 16th birthday because it’s the biggest of your teen years and I wanted to make an impact.

“I’ve always liked helping people. After Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti I gave all my pocket money to aid those affected.

“When I found out about the problems people regularly encounter in Africa, I wanted to do something and found out that making wells and supplying clean water can save lives.”

She is right, water is life. Yet 783 million people do not have access to safe, clean drinking water, and 2.5 billion people live without proper sanitation. When water is unsafe and sanitation is non-existent, water can kill.

Across the globe, more than 3,000 children die each day from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation facilities.

Dad Daniel and mum Nicole organised a family holiday to Ethiopia during the summer and Sarah says the trip helped inspire her to reach the fund-raising target.

“I saw a river that was full of mucky water. The closest village was a 30-minute drive away and it was the main water source,” she explained. “I was so glad that I went to see the difference I would be making. These people have to carry cans filled with water for three to four hours daily.”

In order to raise awareness and money, Sarah organised a ‘water walk’ at her school inviting students and teachers to trek around the track with cans filled with water. She also organised a fund-raising bake sale.

“Although the cans can weigh up to 40 pounds and were extremely difficult to carry, the water walk was so much fun. Imagine how villagers in Africa must feel about having to carry water for hours before reaching home.

School events raised BD276, a fundraising party in her compound added another BD600, the Victoria Dance School, which she attends, in Saar collected BD200 and family and friends rushed to support the cause.

In the future Sarah hopes to live in a Third World country and work for a charitable concern. She is looking forward to receiving pictures of the two wells she has financed.

Sarah said: “I would describe myself as someone with a big dream hoping to make a difference in the world and I won’t stop until I really feel I have achieved that.”