ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After a year of fundraising, Monroe Community College student leaders of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project (HGHRP) were proud and emotional as they presented a $15,000 check to Salva Dut, founder and president of Water for Sudan, Inc. on June 18 at MCC. The money will enable Water for Sudan to build a new well in southern Sudan next year.

According to Water for Sudan (www.waterforsudan.org), each day hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa and Sudan walk for hours through the desert to collect water. Water for Sudan is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based in Rochester, N.Y. Its mission is to bring fresh, clean water to the people of southern Sudan. To date, Water for Sudan has drilled 44 wells and provided over 80,000 people with uncontaminated drinking water. The organization aims to drill up to 40 wells per year -- transforming the lives of Sudanese villagers who, instead of walking for hours, will now have the time and means to establish marketplaces, health clinics and schools.

This marked the third year HGHRP members raised funds for Water for Sudan. MCC student and HGHRP President Heather Naugle said “What touched me most about Water for Sudan was that it enabled villages to build better schools. As an education major, I know how important having a classroom is.”

Jenny Blum, who led the HGHRP’s Water for Sudan committee, described the students’ efforts and the successful launch of the Walk for Water in March that raised $2,700. She invited project members to join her in presenting the check to Dut, a former Sudanese Lost Boy who is also an MCC alumnus.

Prior to the check presentation, the audience watched the documentary film “Just Add Water,” produced by Rochester director Jeff Mead, that told the history of Water for Sudan and the building of a well in Abilnyang, Sudan. The documentary (http://www.waterforsudan.org/OurStory.html) also captured the impact Water for Sudan has had on residents of other villages in the region.

Dut thanked the student by describing how their efforts touched his heart. As a result of the students’ commitment and dedication, a new well will be built in Sudan next year -- enabling more children to go to school and transforming a village into a more prosperous place for its people.

###
Media Contact: