Rachael Paulson Philanthropic Traveler

photo credit: Bob Karp

Exquisite Safaris supports Rachael Paulson's vision for philanthropic youth education illustrated in the following philanthropic travel article in the Morristown Daily Record.

Hannah Lowery, left, and her mom, Suzanne, try to get cars into the Stop and Shop parking lot as a group of Sparta teens holds a car wash fundraiser to raise money to dig wells and purchase Play Pumps in Africa. The group was scheduled to arrive in Africa today to see the area they will be helping.

Sparta Teens Off to Africa to Bring Water to Schools
LAURA BRUNO DAILY RECORD

(Also see mention on Exquisite Safaris)

August 5, 2006

SPARTA - They've taught preschoolers about the importance of recycling, befriended children who lost a parent in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and painted murals with disadvantaged youngsters in Newark.Now, a group of teens led by a Sparta environmental author is looking to make a difference overseas - tackling the lack of running water in a province of South Africa.
Rachael Paulson and six teenagers are due to arrive in Africa today and will spend 10 days assessing the water needs in the KwaZulu-Natal region -specifically in Ixopo, a town described in Alan Paton's "Cry, The Beloved Country."

"It is true that there is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. It is true that it runs to Carisbrooke and that from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest scenes of Africa, the valley of the Umzimkulu." Ixopo may be lovely, but it is sorely lacking in resources, which Paulson and her group of teens hope to play a small part in addressing. This trip will be Paulson's second to Ixopo - she was there in May to oversee the digging of a bore hole and the activation of a water pump at the Carisbrooke Primary School.

Before the pump was installed, children had to walk four blocks to fill a jug with water that then was shared at the school.

The Sparta teens are raising money to offset the cost of their trip and to build a small greenhouse at the Carisbrooke school, which they hope to make their model and home base. While there this month, they also plan to make a mural with the students and teach them about recycling. The group hopes that corporate sponsors will step forward to cover the costs of digging bore holes for wells and pumps to bring running water to more of Ixopo's schools. Each well and pump can cost at least $10,000, depending on how deep they have to dig in the hilly terrain, Paulson said.

"It's gorgeous there," Paulson said. "I don't think people know that about Africa - people know about AIDS and the poverty, but I want them to know about the people there who have courage. I want them to see the beauty I saw." Paulson, a former teacher, was doing research for a book on water when she discovered Ixopo and the reference to the town in Paton's book. After reading the book, Paulson became determined to do something.

That drive and money she received for her research got her to Ixopo in May with a drill team that installed a well and pump at the Carisbrooke school. When she returned to Sparta, she energized a group of teens she had worked with several years ago when they were in middle school. Under Paulson's guidance, the group had undertaken numerous community-based projects in and around Sparta. The teens traveled to schools to give recycling workshops, do art projects in Newark and raise money to purchase measles vaccines for children in Ghana.

The group had fallen apart when the teens, mostly friends of Paulson's daughter, became wrapped up in the bustle of high school life.

This summer, Paulson proposed to these teens to revive their action group with a new core purpose, called Water is Life. The group is seeking non-profit status under the name Global Kids USA.
"I thought this was a perfect opportunity to help over there,"said Hannah Lowery, 17, of Sparta. "I'm really interested in being able to interact with the kids and I'm excited about the possibility of giving them water." Her mother, Suzanne Lowery, is a little nervous about the trip, but she supports her daughter's sense of adventure.

"It's exciting, but nerve-wracking too," Suzanne Lowery said. "This is a tight-knit, mature group, and they're serious about making a difference."

Paulson's enthusiasm rubs off on the teens, Suzanne Lowery said. For example, one teen, Paden Simmons, went to the Sparta Goddard School and asked for a donation. Owner Jim Freda said he was so impressed with Simmons' professionalism and excitement that he made a $200 donation.The school also is donating proceeds from a fundraiser this week to the cause. In exchange, Simmons offered to perform a recycling workshop for the preschoolers when he returns from Africa. Some have told the teens that their plans are a little ambitious, but that has not dissuaded them, said Carla Kopyta, Simmons' mother.

"It's so pie in the sky, some can't fathom that the kids could do this," Kopyta said. "They've kept their enthusiasm ... their determination, even with bumps in the road. My son said to me, 'Mom, I'm going to make this happen.'" Simmons, 17, said after seeing Paulson's pictures from her May trip, he was hooked.

"Once you think about what you have and what others don't have, it makes you want to do more," Simmons said.

Copyright (c) Daily Record. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
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