September 10, 1997
Contact: Louise Snider, 619/594-5204
Gala will benefit effort to bring safe water to African children
A benefit gala, "Maji Ni Maisha" (Swahili for "Water is life"), will be held on Saturday, September 27, 7 p.m., at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, as a fund raiser for Water for Children Africa.
There will be great food, musical entertainment and inspirational messages. Guest speakers will be Dr. Louis Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; State Senator Diane Watson of Los Angeles County, and Dr. Stephen L. Weber, president of San Diego State University. The master of ceremonies will be Herb Cawthorne of KGTV 10, San Diego. According to Water for Children Africa, 30,000 children die daily from contaminated water and many more suffer from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water. The mission of this San Diego-based, non-profit organization is to bring safe, sustainable water to rural African villages through the transfer of appropriate technology.
The organization sends equipment and teams of ground-water specialists and volunteers, including local, high achieving youths, to work with village water committees for development and maintenance of the village water supply. Volunteers have included students from Gompers, Morse, Pershing and San Diego University High School.
Since 1996, technical teams have provided safe water for more than 2,000 villagers in Uganda. Currently, projects are underway in Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as Uganda; others are planned for South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe.
Tickets for the gala are $100 per person. For reservations or information, contact Ron Moffatt, director of SDSU’s International Student Center: phone 619/594-1977, fax 619/594-1973, email Ron.Moffatt@sdsu.edu or visit the website at http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/isc/gala.
San Diego State University’s International Student Center and Center for International Business Education and Research are contributing to Water for Children Africa by coordinating the second annual African Trade and Business Conference and the concluding gala. The events provide a mechanism to develop stronger commercial ties between the San Diego business community and emerging markets in Africa and to raise funds for WCA.
The trade conference will take place Friday and Saturday, September 26 and 27, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. For information about the conference, contact Ron Moffatt at above numbers or visit the website at http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/isc/tradeconference.