Race against Thirst

Bethany Burpee, the HR Development Manager in Plymouth, Michigan, has a special passion: running. When she gets thirsty, she naturally reaches for her water bottle. But drinking water isn’t readily available everywhere in the world. And Burpee, a mother of three, knows this.

In her free time, she runs in races to raise money for water projects in Africa, under the auspices of World Vision, which is supported by running teams worldwide. They run to collect donations to fund well-drilling projects in Africa, for example. The youngest members of these societies are expected to benefit the most. “When children have access to fresh water, they are positioned for healthy development,” Burpee said.

New Wells Promote Education

The Neven Subotic Foundation confirms this. Subotic, a former member of the Serbian national soccer team, who spent part of his childhood in the U.S., has been supporting well-drilling in Ethiopia for several years. He hopes the efforts will reduce childhood mortality and make it possible for girls to attend school. They would otherwise be spending hours each day collecting water many kilometers away and bringing it home in jerrycans. Burpee has already been able to motivate some of her co-workers to participate in events for the cause. Incidentally, she has become quite successful in her own right, raising up to $8,000 in a year.

Commitment in Tanzania

A distance of 1,200 kilometers separates the workplaces of Christopher Peters and Bethany Burpee. Peters works for Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) in Bamberg, South Carolina.

The avid mountain climber is also involved with social projects in Africa in his free time. He collects donations for a village in Tanzania on behalf of a Christian aid organization. The work has made it possible to build new sanitary facilities in the village and ensure the availability of clean water. He was impressed with both developments during a visit there.

Burpee and Peters are two examples of the many Freudenberg employees who are involved with social causes. In different ways, employees in the U.S. are helping to quench Africans’ thirst for clean water.