Kate Manning, a Grade 1 student at Olds Koinonia Christian School, has raised nearly enough money to build a well in a developing country.
Since kicking off ìThe $5 Rescueî with a school presentation on Jan. 9, Manning and the students she's recruited for the cause have raised about $9,400 for Samaritan's Purse to build a well in either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Nepal.
ìIt makes me feel really joyful and happy,î Kate said.
Her mother, Aaryn, found Kate's campaign just as rewarding.
ìI am thrilled with the response. It's just really exciting to see other students want to participate and then go above and beyond,î Aaryn said. ìSo the kids that took it to family members and their churches, it's really exciting.î
Aaryn said Kate had a lofty goal from the start, aiming to raise between $10,000 and $12,000, the cost of building a single well.
ìAs a mom it was exciting to see the optimism that a child has, that they could do something like that. I didn't really think that she could raise that much but she did. Kate believed in it,î she said.
Kate's The $5 Rescue project started when she heard a presentation about the importance of clean water in teacher Pearl Abel's kindergarten class.
ìDo you remember what happens when people don't have any clean water,î Aaryn asked her daughter during her interview with the Olds Albertan.
ìThey get very sick,î Kate replied.
In response, Kate asked people to donate $5 and in turn, ask seven other people for the same amount.
Instead of an unspecified amount, asking for $5 made it easier for people to part with their money, Aaryn said.
She added she believed the campaign was successful because it was a child who started it.
ìI think a large part of it was it was initiated by a kid and that Kate herself spoke about it in chapel so it wasn't an adult doing the ask,î she said. ìI think people maybe wanted to support her in her endeavour just seeing that she was passionate about it.î
Aaryn said they picked Samaritan's Purse to carry out the well's construction because it was an organization they had local access to.
"We picked them I think because we're familiar with them through Operation Christmas Child, which her school participates in,î she said, referring to an annual campaign where shoeboxes of gifts are sent to children in poor countries.
ìAnd just knew also that they did projects like this water project, so just an organization that we're familiar with that was local. It was nice that Kate could go down there. She went down there initially to learn about what they do with water projects and how she could help."
Samaritan's Purse will keep the Mannings, who live in Carstairs, updated on the project, Aaryn said. She added that if people still want to contribute, they can contact the organization directly and mention Kate's The $5 Rescue.
Aaryn asked her daughter what she wanted to tell donors.
ìThank you,î Kate said.
