16 Jan 2014 Special Guest Post

This is a special post-holiday season blog post from our volunteer, Emily Cupo, at Souderton Area High School in Harleysville, Pennsylvania USA.

When I initially reached out to A Spring of Hope, I had no idea what my involvement would entail. Eight months later and halfway through my senior year of high school, my work with A Spring of Hope has come to involve fundraising for Maranatha Creche, a small preschool down the road from ASOH’s flagship school, Beretta Primary. From donations made on my website and at various events, I have helped with working toward bringing the Maratha Creche a clean source of water and sanitary facilities. Along with fundraising, I am promoting awareness of the global water crisis. Information about A Spring of Hope, Acornhoek, and Maranatha Creche are on my website, which I launched to speak directly to my school community about this project. My friends, family, peers, teachers, and mentors are helping me with our largest event to date, our Walk for Water event in April 2014.

I have realized that this experience means more than just raising funds and awareness. As I started to meet and contact people through A Spring of Hope, something changed. In a way, my heart has grown three times its size by being involved with such an incredible organization. As I learned about Acornhoek and Maranatha, I began to fully grasp the immensity of the global water crisis. I knew I found something important that I would dedicate the next chapter of my life to.

I reached out to A Spring of Hope because I wanted to learn more about the global water crisis and try do something to help. I believe I have received an even larger gift; A Spring of Hope gave me a direction that drives my future. I am more passionate than ever in my pursuit to help communities receive access to clean water and sanitation.

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones that are re-gifted. If we all do work that makes one other person smile, everyone would be smiling.

-Emily Cupo
Class of 2014
Souderton Area High School, PA