Paige and Bee's Summit for Change - Tanzania
Hi. I’m Bee Rogers, a 15-year-old American who was born/lives in Singapore, and I attend Nanyang Girls’ High School.
On 7 June, along with my mother Paige Parker, I will climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, the world’s 4th highest peak.
This will be my mother’s 4th climb of Kili – the mountain obviously resonates with her! Mom first climbed Africa’s tallest mountain with my father Jim Rogers when they were driving around the world, in the year 2000; then Mom did it alone a decade later, and when my older sister Hilton was 15, in 2018, she climbed Kili with Mom too. This adventure has been a given, a rite of passage for each of us, since we were young.
Since I shall do this incredible trek, I thought Mom and I should try to raise funds to benefit Tanzania in the process. I’ve heard my mother talk about witnessing women walking countless kilometers to fetch water: she writes of this in her memoir – “Don’t Call Me Mrs. Rogers” which details the epic circumnavigation she and my father did, traveling to 116 countries, over three years – covering 37 countries in Africa – and ultimately gaining a Guinness World Record for each of them.
Today, in Tanzania, many people, especially those in rural areas, still lack access to clean water. This increases the risk of waterborne diseases that can be fatal. Many schools in Tanzania lack basic facilities such as clean water, which makes it difficult for students to concentrate and learn.
My goal is to raise donations to buy water filters for schools along the rural areas of the Serengeti – giving more students access to safe, clean drinking water, which will help improve their lives and reduce absenteeism due to illness.
Mount Kilimanjaro is among Tanzania's biggest tourist attractions, and climbing it will be a once-in-a-lifetime feat for me. After the climb, Mom and I will visit the Serengeti together; raising money for water filters for schools in this remote area will allow us – and you – to contribute to the region’s development and leave a positive impact on a few communities and schools I hope.
ALL of the money (100 percent of all funds) raised will be used to purchase water filters that will change the lives of children, especially girls who endure the brunt of the fetching and cleaning of the water.
Please give generously as we, my mom and I, aim to summit Kili, for ourselves and also to bring clean water to schools near the Serengeti.
Sincerely,
Bee Rogers
How you can help
Because of LifeStraw and AKP's commitment to cover all administrative overhead, all donations go directly to the project. Each child receives clean water for a whole school year for less than US$1 a day.
US$450 provides:
1 LifeStraw Community
100 schoolchildren safe water for
5 years, including education, training and maintenance
US$2,250 provides:
5 LifeStraw Communities
1 school
500 schoolchildren safe water for
5 years, including education, training and maintenance
US$11,250 provides:
25 LifeStraw Communities
1 region of schools
2,500 schoolchildren safe water for
5 years, including education, training and maintenance
All schools supported by this program border the Serengeti National Park and support communities living on the edge of wilderness.
AKP is giving opportunities to an underserved population
Based on the success achieved in other parts of the world, AKP has expanded the Safe Water for Schools Initiative to Tanzania – delivering LifeStraw® filters to schools in Arusha, Tarangire and Ngorongoro.
The Safe Water for Schools Initiative to Tanzania program brings the LifeStraw community filter, a high-volume water purifier designed to deliver safe drinking water, to communities in Tanzania. The filter’s hollow fiber purification technology converts contaminated water into safe drinking water by removing a minimum of 99.99% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses and 99.99% of protozoan parasites. It prevents waterborne diseases common in Africa, such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, worms, and cryptosporidiosis.
Watch the video below to learn more about our Safe Water for Schools Initiative in Kenya.
