A thirst to channel assistance
Student-run group raises funds and awareness for parched communities
Dubai: Eighteen-year-old Aman Ghose does not take his showers for granted.
As the co-founder of The Aqua Initiative at his school, the teenager from India has been a strong advocate for water conservation and purification over the past three years. The Aqua Initiative is a student-run non-profit organisation based at Dubai International Academy that aims to raise awareness and funds to address the water crisis facing the world.
Motivating factor
Aman's motivation for the initiative stems from eye-opening experiences during a school trip to Ethiopia in 2008. "The aim of our photography trip to Ethiopia was to sensitise the youth of Dubai using media and then raise funds for the cause. After my experience there, I travelled to my hometown Kolkata, and visited villages near the India-Bangladesh border that were affected by water-related diseases."
Aman photo-documented the lives of people in the places he visited, and realised how the lack of a basic necessity such as water was the root of all their problems. "I came back to Dubai, and utilised my photos to establish a local poster campaign to create awareness amongst the fortunate Dubai community. The campaign was a success, and I consequently teamed up with Edward Pollock from my school to establish The Aqua Initiative," he recalls.
During the two years since it became operational, the group has raised approximately Dh50,000, which has been donated to various communities around the world. They have also built 31 hand-dug wells in Bangladesh, 16 rope pumps in Ethiopia, and trained 40 community members in Ethiopia to maintain their water supplies.
The initiative has also provided a school recourse to obtain potable drinking water and access to sanitation blocks for 1,650 youth in India.
"The Aqua Initiative's Dubai chapter will remain a united entity and the students of Dubai International Academy will continue its work.
"However, my aim had always been to start big and take the organisation to greater heights, and hence I plan to establish a larger and more efficient version of the Aqua Initiative at my university in the US."
