Republican American Article

Borough man needs help to give help in Kenya

BY PAUL SINGLEY

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

NAUGATUCK — Like most Americans, Matt Andrew used to take for granted everyday needs like clean drinking water and a roof over his head.

But recent volunteer trips to Nicaragua and Guatemala — where many people lived without those and other necessities — helped him realize how lucky he is.

“Those trips kind of put life into perspec­tive,” said Andrew, a 21-year-old borough resident and Quinnipiac University stu­dent. “After that, I think I kind of felt a moral obligation to make a change in the world.”

That is what Andrew will attempt to do this summer when he spends six weeks working to improve life for people in Kenya, in east Africa. Andrew, who will be a senior in Quinnipiac’s School of Commu­nications this fall, has been selected to par­ticipate in the Student Movement for Real Change internship. The program, based in Washington, D.C., is an international non­profit organization that works to empower young leaders in the global effort to stop poverty.

Andrew, editor-in-chief of the Quad News online student newspaper, was one of only 10 students chosen for the internship out of hundreds of applications from 40 uni­versities nationally. The students will leave for Kenya on June 27. Andrew is no stranger to humanitarian efforts. In his trips to Nicaragua and Guatemala, he helped residents build classrooms for chil­dren. This summer, he will spend time working directly with Kenyan people to help resolve a lack of clean drinking water problem.

Along with the other interns, Andrew will work with the community to construct a dam to provide cleaner water, 14 latrines to provide safe and hygienic disposal of hu­man waste and hand-washing solutions. The interns will also give hygiene training workshops to the community, and they plan to build a schoolhouse for primary-and-sec­ondary- level education. Andrew will stay with a host family dur­ing his visit and will spend most of his time in the town of Kayafungo.

Andrew must raise $5,500 to participate in the internship. So far, he has raised about $2,500.

For information about the Student Move­ment for Real Change, or to help Andrew’s fundraising effort, log on to www.mattan­drew. com. The site has a link for people to donate.