By Patty Talahongva

    More than two years ago on Christmas Eve, North Central teenager Nathan West saw something on television that made such an impression on him, he never forgot it—and now he’s doing something about it.

    West is a senior and student body president at Sunnyslope High School. He’s deep into fundraising, along with not only the student body at SHS but the entire Glendale Union High School District as well.

    West and his classmates are raising money, with an ambitious goal of $14,000, for Water For People, an  organization that installs water pumps in sub-Saharan Africa to benefit people who would otherwise not have access to clean, drinkable water. It’s the program he saw featured on PBS’ Frontline.

 

“I was amazed at how clean water could change the lives of an entire village,” says West. He was also surprised at how inexpensive the project was and that a merry-go-round was used to power the pump.

    According to the organization’s Web site, the concept is this: the kids have fun playing on and spinning the merry-go-round. That action is linked to a pump and tapped into an underground water reservoir. The water is pumped up and stored in a nearby tank. Villagers can then get the clean water from the tap for drinking and cooking. In addition, the water tanks serve as “billboards” for advertising and also health and educational messages. The revenue from these billboards helps pay for the maintenance of the pumps. 

    So far West says his group has raised nearly $5,000. “We believe that with the Phoenix community’s help, we can reach this lofty goal,” he says. All donations are tax-deductible.

    West has been his class president every year and is an officer with the National Honor Society as well as a member of the Spanish Honors Society—and he’s an athlete. A student exchange trip last year to the country of Paraguay gave him a first-hand look at life without running water.

    “There is a high percentage of people that do not have running water or electricity in their own homes,” he says. “People who lived less than 5 miles from my own home (in Paraguay) struggled with these problems, and that hit home for me.”

    So, in his senior year he proposed the fundraiser for his school. He started actively raising money in February. At his monthly meetings with other student body presidents in the district he shared his efforts and each one agreed to help. This thrills him because even school rivals from Thunderbird High are setting their rivalry aside to help raise money.

    West and more than two dozen student volunteers spent their Saturday morning on April 17 washing cars in the Sunnyslope High parking lot, just one of several already completed fundraising efforts, including a Bowl-A-Thon at Sunset Bowl on May 2.

    West says he will mail the check before the last day of school, which is May 21. He graduates on May 28. Then he will be off to the University of San Diego in the fall to major in International Relations.

    Community members who wish to  contribute may mail or drop off checks made payable to “Sunnyslope High School” with “Playpump Project” on the memo line at Sunnyslope High School, 35 W. Dunlap Ave.