Clear Water Initiative

This past Thursday I went to Fletcher’s annual Faculty Waits on You Dinner.  Its a fun event where faculty and staff actually do wait on the students and then there is an auction after, featuring items donated by faculty (many of them involve chances to just hang out with or go to dinner with faculty members).  I liked the event a lot because it reminds me that the Fletcher community is a unique one and we all go out of our way to make sure that this community is alive and well (despite our heavy workloads and frantic schedules this time of the year).

One of the most touching parts about this year’s event was that it was in honor of Ben Sklaver, a Fletcher ‘03 alum who was killed about a month ago by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.  Not only was Ben a loyal soldier, but also a humanitarian, who formed an NGO to provide clean water to communities who need it the most.  I don’t know Ben personally, but I was incredibly touched hearing his father and his friend speak about how he dedicated his life to helping others and always held out hope that we could make a difference in the lives of others.  It is clear that the Fletcher community, the US, and the world lost a wonderful person when Ben passed.

However, his NGO, Clear Water Initiative, lives on.  All the proceeds from the dinner and auction went to support their sustainable water projects, which are mostly based in Northern Uganda. I would urge you to visit the organization’s website and see what they are doing.  Bidding on auction items, I was happy that my money was going to a this cause and hope that Ben’s dream will continue to be realized even after his untimely death.