Defiance College concert to benefit Tanzania water project
March 24, 2015
DEFIANCE, Ohio – When Defiance College student Dava Donaldson spent two weeks in
Tanzania last year as a McMaster Scholar, she was impacted by the people’s need for
clean water. In rural areas of the country, water is not easily accessible, and it
is often contaminated, causing illness to those who use it.
Donaldson decided that she would address the problem by helping to outfit one area
of the country with water relief equipment. She has been raising funds throughout
this school year to purchase sump pumps, chemical dosing equipment, and Lifestraw
filtration systems to alleviate the harm of poor water quality.
With Donaldson’s coordination and the support of the McMaster School for Advancing
Humanity, a benefit concert will be held Saturday, April 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m.,
to raise funds for the purchase of water filtration equipment for the Katungulu Bible
Training School and its wider community. The event will be held at St. John United
Church of Christ, Webster Street, with $10 general admission or $5 admission for DC
students, faculty and staff.
The concert will feature talented Defiance College and Defiance community musicians,
including both vocal and instrumental performances that will vary in genre.
Refreshments will be available. Assisting with the event will be members of Defiance
College’s Service Leader Program, Alpha Phi Omega, the McMaster Tanzania learning
community, as well as other student organizations.
Donaldson is a junior from Elyria, Ohio, majoring in international peace and conflict
resolution. She spent time in Tanzania last year with fellow students and faculty,
conducting research on micro-lending, and will return again this summer hoping to
deliver the much-needed water relief equipment.
She is a Presidential Service Leader and current Alpha Phi Omega president and Project
701 director of project development. Earlier this year, she was a student presenter
at the Southern Political Science Association Conference held in New Orleans.
Donaldson has a strong volunteer background. “However, not until I went to Tanzania
did I realize that so many people in the world do not have access to a single glass
of clean water,” she said. “While many may consider clean water as an inherent right,
the lack of access to clean water kills millions of people every year.
“I feel it is my responsibility as a global citizen to do what I can to help alleviate
the problem. If this project, if our McMaster Tanzania Team, can help build a relationship
with our community partner based on a foundation of clean water, we can later grow
together to improve the human condition through projects focused on sanitation, economics,
education, and a number of other key components of life.”
Persons interested in making a direct donation to Donaldson’s project can contact
the McMaster School at mcmasterschool@defiance.edu or 419-783-2552.
Defiance College’s McMaster School for Advancing Humanity is distinctive among colleges
and universities across the country. It gives students opportunities to conduct research
and service in specially-designed projects around the world. This year, DC students
are carrying out projects in Belize, Cambodia and Tanzania.
Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution
in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as
graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national
recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college
website is www.defiance.edu.