Young sisters’ Origami for Wells idea raises $650,000

By Maria Kyriacou

Young sisters’ Origami for Wells idea raises $650,000
When a little girl heard millions of people were going thirsty around the world, she took action.

When Katherine Adams’ big sister Isabelle was at school, the 5 year-old and her father would fold origami.

The community-minded young girl decided to turn her origami skills into a fundraising activity after learning that girls her age in other less fortunate countries were missing out on attending school because they were spending all day hauling water.

In an effort to raise the funds required to build a well in Ethiopia, Katherine and her Isabelle decided to hold an origami sale at a local coffee shop in Dallas, Texas.

Setting a goal of $500, the sisters found all their ornaments sold out by the end of the day. Within eight weeks the Adams sisters’ had eclipsed their initial financial goal raising an astounding $10,000 – enough to finance a well to benefit an entire village.

Fast forward to today, four years later and the sisters are the proud co-presidents of Paper for Water, an organisation that has raised $650,000 to create 70 newly drilled wells in Africa, India, Mexico, Peru and the United States.

Hundreds of people volunteer their origami skills for the organization which is aiming to raise $20 billion to raise, which the girls see as “definitely doable” to eradicate global thirst in their lifetime.

The simplest Paper for Water ornament takes an hour to make with some taking as long as five.

You can buy the ornaments online at their website.

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