Jugs filled to the rim with murky water and various merchandise speckled our campus along with drink-deprived teachers as Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) Week raised awareness and money for charity:water from October 16 to October 23.

On October 16, Lane Wood of charity:water kicked off the upcoming events with his photo and video showcase. In addition to reviewing Scott Harrison’s presentation last year, Wood advocated the latest branch of the charity, “Water for Schools.”

In order to assist charity: water in its endeavor, GEO launched its fundraisers, Lug-A-Jug, Cups-For-A-Well, and a merchandise sale, comprised of Italian sodas, baked goods, foot bands, and GEO-designed stainless steel water bottles.

“[The fundraising events] were surprisingly successful despite the poor economic conditions. Initially, it took people some time to warm up, but later the week improved. I’m excited to see what the results are going to be,” Josephine Chen (11), GEO Treasurer, said.

In Lug-A-Jug, students received pledges to carry old one-gallon milk jugs filled with murky water to simulate the plight of poor, under-nourished children, bearing an even heavier load. College Counselor and GEO advisor Kevin Lum-Lung embraced the greater challenge of actually carrying a massive yellow “jerry can.”

Bridget Nixon (10) was initially reluctant to participate in this fundraiser. “I thought [lugging a jug] would be the death of me! (…) But it gave me a better sense of what people are actually doing in other parts of the world,” she said.

Teachers also contributed to GEO Week by participating in Cups-For-A-Well, in which they sacrificed their intake of a particular drink.

“I mostly missed the social activity around sharing coffee with people. But the idea of how $20 can help one person for over the next 20 years is a rather humbling and inspiring concept,” Susan King, Computer Science teacher, said.

Niti Shahi (12), President of GEO, hoped that this week served other purposes than gaining profits to provide charity: water.

A spirit event, held on October 21, raised further awareness. In this competitive, water-themed relay race, the four classes competed with each other to get through a maze of obstacles that emulated some of the trials people in developing countries face every day.

“I’m happy that the main point of the week was not necessarily to fundraise but to raise awareness. And I think we did a decent job of doing that. I’m glad that everyone now knows a little something about the water crisis,” Niti said.

Despite GEO having to compete with the caliber of last year’s success, roughly 14, 500 dollars, Mai Lien Nguyen, History teacher and another one of the advisors, called them “the movers and the shakers on our campus.”