Marci Houseman, the director of Choral Music, Theatre Arts, and D.R.U.M. at West Pine Middle School in West End, NC., has set up a Donor Managed Fund here at Africa Heartwood Project. She and her students raised $6,000 from their own efforts and within the community to install a bore hole in Ogyanhewano (oh-JOHN-shay-wah-no) and Akromakwaa (ah-CROW-mah-kwah), two remote sister villages in Ghana, by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

Click to read an article about the extraordinary efforts of Wildcat students at ThePilot.com. Listen to a radio interview with Marci Houseman and two of her students talk about the Wildcat Water Project.

This bore hole provides clean water to two rural agricultural villages in Ghana - Ogyanhewano and Akromakwaa - for drinking, cooking, washing, and irrigating. Diseases contracted from drinking unclean water are the number one killer of children in the world today. Marci and her students and community are engaged in a cause that will literally save lives and forever improve the quality of life for hundreds of people. Click to see videos and learn more about Africa Heartwood Projects other successful Village Water Projects.

The fundraising goal was $6,000 by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. This was raised by dedicating a portion of proceeds from school concerts and performances, from parents and friends of the Wildcats, and by generous matching funds from local West End businesses.Please also visit Marci's classroom webpage for more information about how the Wildcats are helping to make the world a better place!

Thanks to Marci and the Wildcats, Ogyenhewano and Akromakwaa now have reliable access to clean water for the first time ever! On behalf of the individuals in these communities- the children to the elders - we want to express our deeply heart felt gratitude for the hard work and sacrifice given by the Wildcat students, families, teachers, and community of West End, NC. Your efforts have improved the quality of life - and actually saved lives - of hundreds of people for generations to come. May you one day comprehend the incredible difference your love has made for some beautiful people you've never met.

Photos of Ogyanhewano Hand Pump Installation on Sept 1, 2010

Here is the time-line of the Wildcat Water Project progress, from begining to end.

10-20-2009 - Project started, student team organized, community awareness campaign begins with student presentations
12-31-2009 - $508.40 total raised
1-9-2010 - Community drum circle fundraiser
2-2-2010 - $1653.58 total raised
2-5-2010 - Villages selected for Wilcat Water Project bore holes
3-8-10 - School musical, ticket purchase as fundraiser
3-10-2010 - $1703.58 total raised
3-15-10 - Geophysical survey completed to determine drilling sites
3-26-10 - Palustris Festival drum circle fundraiser
4-22-2010 - $5278.58 total raised
6-1-2010 - Drilling completed, bore hole capped
6-16-2010 - $6000.00 total raised (fundraising complete)
8-7-10 - Concrete pad installed for hand pump
9-1-10 - Hand pump installed, bore hole complete!