The
President’s Leadership Circle held a presentation called “Sustainability in
Uganda” in the Atkinson room. PLC consists of twelve exceptional student
leaders who are offered shadowing opportunities with FSU’s President and are
exposed to Global experiential learning.
PLC
members India Lacey and Aimee Petrides shared of their experiences in
Uganda. They traveled to Uganda to help out at Pagwaya Primary School and
teamed up with Water School Uganda, which helps communities around the world
with sustainable water solutions.
“We
volunteered at a school there, we got to interact with kids. We taught them how
to sanitize water and about personal hygiene,” Lacey said.
The
SODIS method, Solar disinfection, is a way of disinfecting drinking water while
using the UV light from the sun and infrared (IR) rays and clear PET bottles.
PLC members used this method to help create safe water to be used by the people
of Uganda.
There
are four steps needed to ensure the SODIS method is carried out appropriately.
The first step is to fetch water from The Nile River.
“The
men and women are walking with no shoes. It’s just crazy to imagine them
walking like this everyday,” Lacey said. Although it is a great feeling to
help, PLC believes it is a sobering experience to see what the people of Uganda
must go through daily.
The
second step is to collect a clear PET water bottle and fill it with water from
the Nile. Next, the filled water bottle is placed on an elevated surface under
the sun. It is then left out for a minimum of six hours.
After
these steps are complete the citizens are able to utilitize their new clean
water. “The SODIS method helps them clean the water so that they are able to
eat,” Petrides said.
In
addition to introducing the SODIS method, PLC members helped to build
“Tippy-Taps” as well. They are outdoor “sinks” made from local sustainable
resources such as fishing wire and sticks. This convenient tool only takes
thirty minutes to build.
“It’s
clear that we really do make a connection with these people,” Lacey said. PLC
has visited Uganda twice and intends on traveling there the following year with
the new PLC team.
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