Pierce Brosnan supporting schools to raise funds for water-starved nations

One might get the impression rather quickly that the students on the Green Dream team at Gabrielino High School are big dreamers and heavy thinkers - reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

One just needs to see their more- than-20-foot-long replica of a device called a LifeStraw (normally about a foot long) to understand that their aspirations, while almost mythical in stature, could be the stuff of legend if accomplished.

“In high school they have built this crazy idea that you can do whatever you want to do,” said Vivian Lam, a student involved with the Green Dream. “And we really believe that.”

The students on the Green Dream team are trying to raise enough money to purchase 1 million LifeStraws. LifeStraws are portable water purification devices. They are, some believe, an opportunity to stop the spread of disease through water in third-world countries.

Each LifeStraw costs about $4.75, meaning that students have to raise about $4.8 million to purchase the desired amount.

And as if that isn't already a daunting task, the team is also attempting to do the majority of the fundraising through recycling.

That's right: the team plans to raise the money, five cents by five cents by five cents. They estimate that it will take about 97 million bottles and cans to reach the mark.

“It is ironic that we have drinking beverages everywhere at our fingertips,” said teacher Michael Winters. “Oftentimes we don't even recycle them. I thought, ‘What if we recycle them to buy the LifeStraws for drinking water?' ”

Winters teaches the environmental technology class at the high school (it used to be just a technology class) and each year the class has organized some sort of fundraiser based around environmental and social issues.

Last year the class raised about $400 through electronic-waste recycling to donate to a group that builds homes in Mexico.

But this year, the fundraising goal is substantial and the students know they can't do it alone.

“Our goal is to get as many high schools as possible to get involved and purchase LifeStraws,” Winters said.

They have created a Web site, have enlisted the help of various organizations, have encouraged any and all schools to join in, are working with the Goodall Institute, are organizing a festival, and have even garnered support from actor Pierce Brosnan and his wife, Keely.

THE MISSION

This is no bake sale. Winters and his class understand that it will take much more than the ordinary high school fundraising efforts to reach their goal.
They have set aside about seven months to procure the funds, starting in late September with their sights set on April 22, 2009 — Earth Day — as the completion date.

The group of about 30 students is, somewhat casually, broken up into specific tasks.

Some work to develop the two Web sites that reach out to different groups and areas of the country to get more people involved in the cause.

The school is also already working with schools from Santa Monica who are also part of the challenge to raise funds through recycling cans and bottles.
“We have our fingers in a lot of different places,” said senior Kathleen Tan.

Outreach is one of the major components of the entire project. That is why the 2nd Annual Green Dream Festival is so important.

The Green Dream Festival will be one of the major fundraising and awareness events the team will put on. On Jan. 17, the team is challenging their community and those surrounding it in the San Gabriel Valley to recycle as many cans and bottles as possible.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the high school, 1327 San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel, and will include guest speakers, presentations, activities and education booths.

“The whole lesson has become an octopus of opportunity,” said teacher Michael Winters.

While serving as a major fundraiser for the group, the group also hopes the event will entice other schools, organizations and individuals to become involved.

The group is also using the Rose Parade as a kickoff for fundraising. The team will work from 3 p.m. New Year's Eve to 3 p.m. New Year's Day to raise awareness — and money.

The Jane Goodall Institute has become involved with the students' project. A program from the Goodall Institute, Roots and Shoots, has also sponsored the Green Dream. The team fits in with Roots and Shoots' objective of empowering youths to design and implement community- based service learning projects.
The institute is also one of the partners that will help distribute the LifeStraws, gradually, as they are procured.

It was through a program with Roots and Shoots and the annual Peace Day event that the class came in contact with the Brosnans. The students, who spoke about their project at a fair where Keely Brosnan also spoke, left an impression. The Brosnans have since donated $5,000 to the project and included the team's mission in the family's Christmas cards to friends this year.

“Young people can make a difference,” said Roots and Shoots Regional Director Karen Oxrider.

Winters also wants to eventually challenge the beverage companies who create the bottles and cans to get involved in the project and encourage recycling for the LifeStraws.

LIFE STRAW

If you didn't know what it was, you could swear a LifeStraw looks just like a bicycle tire pump. But this tool is an advanced piece of technology that can go a long way toward helping give people disease-free water.

Each LifeStraw can purify, at minimum, 700 liters of water before it needs to be replaced, according to the Carter Center, which developed the LifeStraw.
The straw's purification system removes 99.9999 percent of all waterborne bacteria and 99 percent of waterborne viruses, center spokesmen said.
The device doesn't use any electrical power or spare parts. It has won numerous awards in recent years, including the Best Invention of 2005 from Time magazine and Europe's Best Invention from Reader's Digest.

The significance of the LifeStraw is clear to the students. In the packet given out to organizations and potential donors, the students are trying to inform the public about the dangers concerning diseased water.

Only 62 percent of the world's population has access to good sanitation, meaning 38 percent of the world doesn't have a sanitation system for water that ensures hygienic separation of human excreta — urine, feces or sweat — from human contact, according to Water.org.

About 1.8 million people a year die from diarrhea and related diseases caused by unsafe drinking water, according to Water.org.

The class has decided to have the LifeStraws distributed to seven countries in Africa and three countries in Southeast Asia, in addition to Haiti and possibly Bolivia and Nicaragua.

For more information on the Green Dream team and festival or to learn more about the need for clean water, go to www.greendreamfestival.org.

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