From One of Our BMA Students: I'm Pedaling (and Peddling) for Clean Water in the Amazon

Dear friends,

For My Mitzvah Project, I have decided to piggyback onto a New Shul effort to raise money for a water treatment plant that residents of an Amazon River village will install, run and maintain on their own. From now until my Bar Mitzvah on April 30th, I will take my unicycle act “on the road” and donate any contributions I receive to this clean water project. In addition, instead of asking for presents, I am asking my guests to help me give the gift of clean water to these children by making a donation to this project.

Almost all children in Amazon River villages consume water directly from rivers, streams and ponds. Since these water sources contain many parasites, children who drink from them are likely to become ill and malnourished. CONAPAC is a Peruvian non-profit organization that promotes conservation of the rainforest by educating its stewards, the people of the Amazon. CONAPAC has designed a simple system to build small water treatment plants in Amazon villages. Overseen by CONAPAC, villagers build the water plants in their communities and attend a 2-day workshop where they learn about the importance of clean water for good health and community prosperity.

At the end of the workshop, each family receives a large container with a spigot to bring and serve clean water in their homes, and each child receives his or her own cup with the message that clean water equals good health.

To learn more about CONAPAC and this project, visit www.conapac.org.

To donate by check, make checks payable to "The New Shul - Water Project" and mail to: The New Shul, 505 8th Avenue, Suite 1212, New York, NY 10018.

Thanks!

Noah Levy