Staff Writer

Julia Powers believes most people want to help if you just give them the opportunity.

Powers, a freshman at Kennebunk High School, is working with her Freshman Real World Awareness Project group, Trevor Luck, Brittany Cacciato and Will Bauld, to raise money to provide clean water in Africa.

In a little more than a month, the four students have raised $432.12 in donations.

The project is designed so students will think outside their lives – or “bubble” as English teacher and co-founder of the FRAP projects Jen Frizzell calls it – and focus on problems in other parts of the world.

“They learn they can make a difference but at the beginning it can be a little overwhelming,” Frizzell said.

In addition to helping others, her students learn lessons including how to do research, make business phone calls and be a team leader.

Before the project Luck said he never felt comfortable in the team leader position.

All four students agree the project seemed a little daunting at first. But after weeks of half-baked plans, Luck read one night about clean water and different charities making a difference to those in need.

“The next day I came in with my notebook and went ‘OK, this is what were doing’,” Luck said as he simulated throwing his notebook on the desk.

The group calls itself PI3 – Poverty in Third World – and has worked with charity:water, an online organization, to learn facts about sickness and disease caused by dirty water.

“Did you know almost a billion people on the planet don’t have clean drinking water?” Luck asked. “That’s one out of eight of us.”

Luck and his group sat in a booth at May Day and outside Shaw’s and fired off one fact after another about dangers of unsafe water.

Their efforts paid off. Luck estimates almost 80 percent of people they engaged donated to the cause. Even more surprising to the students was they didn’t just give loose pocket change; some gave up to $10.

“What was our slogan in the beginning?” Luck asked. “Change for change.”

The students said some of the only complaints they heard when collecting money was that America has clean water problems as well.

“It’s a lot easier for us to help ourselves internally. (Developing countries) don’t have the means to ask for help,” Bauld said.

Powers gave a few suggestions about what people can do to save water, such as take shorter showers, turn off the water while brushing teeth and pour water into a coffee cup before making coffee to see exactly how much water is needed.

Proceeds collected will be given to charity:water, which focuses on building wells in Africa to provide water for a longer period of time instead of just cases of bottled water which can last only a few days.

Luck explained volunteers working with charity:water go to Africa and teach people how to maintain wells that can last up to 30 years.

All four students said they had each read a little about the clean water problem plaguing developing countries before the project, but never took an active role to do something about it until their English project gave them the opportunity.

Frizzell said this was the second year of the FRAP assignment and while kinks are still being worked out, she feels the program is successful.

“It doesn’t need to be raising funds, it could be volunteering. It’s really up to the kids,” Frizzell said.

The FRAP assignment is currently wrapping up for  freshmen English students, but Luck said the PI3 group may continue to raise funds on its own for clean water in Africa.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.