Local students help bring clean water to Uganda

Youths from around the northwest and west suburbs have been raising funds for a for a new project called Wells for Schools - Uganda.

Spearheaded by the Youth Leadership Board of Hands of Hope, a Barrington-based charity organization, the program is designed to educate students about clean water issues on a global level and provides them with an opportunity to make a difference in another part of the world.

The first lady of Uganda herself, Madame Janet Museveni, visited the area this fall to help kick off the program, personally greeting many of the children and teens involved at a reception in Barrington Hills.

"You provide such a great example to other children around the world, so I thank you," Museveni told the group. "There are many examples of American people who have helped others. - I am so proud of you."

Students who are participating - some on their own initiative and some through their schools - are sponsoring events to raise funds for the Ugandan schools. About $12,000 is needed to pay the cost of one well. Fifty of them can improve the lives of more than 20,000 Ugandan schoolchildren.

As just one example, a group of Barrington High School freshmen hosted a picnic and pool party in Barrington Hills last summer that raises $1,200.

"We are really proud of our kids for taking on a program like Wells for Schools," said Maureen Forster, mother of a Barrington High freshman and a Hands of Hope leader. "They are doing this on their own, with unbelievable enthusiasm and concern for the children in Uganda."

Other students involved attend such schools as Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Fremd High School in Palatine and Barrington Elementary and hail from communities including St. Charles.

Vicky Wauterlek of Barrington founded Hands of Hope about a decade ago after having the chance to visit the African nation.

"I was leading a women's ministry effort in a church and wanted to do something more global," she said. "When I found out firsthand some of the issues, I was appalled. You (hear) about these issues, but when you really see them, issues of poverty, it's overwhelming. There's so much we can do. It takes so little to make a difference."

Wauterlek said many children in Uganda can't go to school at all and those who can face sanitation and health problems if their schools don't have clean water.

Hands of Hope has been a grass-roots efforts mainly driven by local women. It's entirely volunteer so it's able to give the money it raises directly to those who benefit.

Through the wells project, local children have been able to build relationships with specific schools in Uganda and have written to and received letters from the schoolchildren there who benefit from the local efforts.

"It's amazing what students can do when they put their minds to it and see how empowered they are after they've accomplished something like this," Wauterlek said. "It changes their lives."

Hands of Hope will host an event with the Ugandan first lady next April to celebrate the achievements of participating students.

To learn how to get involved in the effort, visit handsofhopeonline.org or call Hands of Hope at (847) 381-7367.