A teenager gets help from Lions
March 10, 2008 - 4:51 PM
Miya Gossett
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania teenager went into the lions den and came out, not with injuries or scars, but hope.
The Yuma Foothills Lions Club provided Miya Gossett, 14, with a $1,000 grant for a water purification project - Pure Water to Panama.
The money went toward a water purifier that will help Panamanian Indians in Ngome Bugle.
Gossett's grandmother, a Yuma resident, contacted the Lions Club when Gossett told her about the project.
"It will definitely make us feel good if this (donation) can help," said Foothills Lions Club secretary Jane Baker.
Unclean water can have devastating effects on men, women and children, Gossett said.
"It shortens the life span and if you live over 40 or 50, you are considered really wise. An adult male in Third World countries is five or six inches shorter" than males in developed countries, she said.
Unclean water can also "cause Giardia lamblia, which is diarrhea in humongous amounts," said Gossett.
Gossett, along with family and friends, began to raise funds for the project last November. They were able to raise enough money to contact New Life International in Underwood, Ind.
New Life International is an organization that helps different communities throughout the world obtain healthy-clean water, said Gossett. The organization was able to put the purifier together in one day.
On Feb. 23, Gossett flew to Panama, with the purifier, and is currently testing the water in surrounding areas. "It feels really good to help people with what they really need."
As a ninth-grader, Gossett took up this cause when she took a Leaders and Action class at West Chester Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School.
"Each student had to do their own project," Gossett said.
A teacher had told her that people in Panama were suffering from illnesses caused by unclean water. They have "a choice of dehydration or living with bad stuff in you," Gossett said.
Baker said that Miya should be praised. "Especially at her young age, going to another country to help other people is commendable."
Gossett plans to stay in Panama until Sunday.
"It makes me feel totally great. It is so cool to help somebody else," Gossett said.
TRUST FUND
Miya Gossett would like to set up a trust fund to ensure that the water purifier is maintained. "I will need $6,700 in all to set up the trust fund," said Gossett.
Donations can be sent to Miya Gossett at 1226 Buffalo St., Franklin, Pa. 16323.
For more information on Gossett and the Pure Water to Panama Project, go to www.dosomething.org, an organization that gave Gossett a Plum grant of $500.
Jennifer Lovell can be reached at jlovell@yumasun.com or 539-6849.
The Yuma Foothills Lions Club provided Miya Gossett, 14, with a $1,000 grant for a water purification project - Pure Water to Panama.
The money went toward a water purifier that will help Panamanian Indians in Ngome Bugle.
Gossett's grandmother, a Yuma resident, contacted the Lions Club when Gossett told her about the project.
"It will definitely make us feel good if this (donation) can help," said Foothills Lions Club secretary Jane Baker.
Unclean water can have devastating effects on men, women and children, Gossett said.
"It shortens the life span and if you live over 40 or 50, you are considered really wise. An adult male in Third World countries is five or six inches shorter" than males in developed countries, she said.
Unclean water can also "cause Giardia lamblia, which is diarrhea in humongous amounts," said Gossett.
Gossett, along with family and friends, began to raise funds for the project last November. They were able to raise enough money to contact New Life International in Underwood, Ind.
New Life International is an organization that helps different communities throughout the world obtain healthy-clean water, said Gossett. The organization was able to put the purifier together in one day.
On Feb. 23, Gossett flew to Panama, with the purifier, and is currently testing the water in surrounding areas. "It feels really good to help people with what they really need."
As a ninth-grader, Gossett took up this cause when she took a Leaders and Action class at West Chester Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School.
"Each student had to do their own project," Gossett said.
A teacher had told her that people in Panama were suffering from illnesses caused by unclean water. They have "a choice of dehydration or living with bad stuff in you," Gossett said.
Baker said that Miya should be praised. "Especially at her young age, going to another country to help other people is commendable."
Gossett plans to stay in Panama until Sunday.
"It makes me feel totally great. It is so cool to help somebody else," Gossett said.
TRUST FUND
Miya Gossett would like to set up a trust fund to ensure that the water purifier is maintained. "I will need $6,700 in all to set up the trust fund," said Gossett.
Donations can be sent to Miya Gossett at 1226 Buffalo St., Franklin, Pa. 16323.
For more information on Gossett and the Pure Water to Panama Project, go to www.dosomething.org, an organization that gave Gossett a Plum grant of $500.
Jennifer Lovell can be reached at jlovell@yumasun.com or 539-6849.