BOISE, Idaho — William Jewell is a senior at Timberline High School with the goal of getting others access to clean water. After a vacation with his family, Jewell is now raising funds for the island of Roatán to help install hydro panels.
- The technology is a sun powered system that works well in humid climates
- Jewell has installed ten hyrdo panels on the roof of a bilingual school
- He has raised over $50,000 and close to his goal
- You can donate here
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
For most people here in Idaho and across the United States, access to clean drinking water is pretty easy.
For some of us, we can walk over to a sink, get access from the tap. For me personally, I like going over to my fridge and using a water filter keeping it nice and cool and I can get it whenever I need it but for some people in other countries this kind of access is not that easy.
I'm your neighborhood reporter Isaiah Sharp, and I'll tell you about one local teen whose focus is changing that bringing access to fresh water to people off the coast of Honduras.
When William Jewell first visited Roatán, he was excited to explore the Caribbean Island but noticed something about their water.
“All of it was being shipped in via plastic containers,” said Jewell.
Which led him to research solutions. At the time, Jewell had just heard about new technology that could solve the freshwater problem. Hydro panels.
“It seemed like two and two went perfectly together. You know, hydro panels perform very well in humid and sunny climates,” said Jewell.
And so, the high school senior returned to the island but this time with a goal of getting access to clean water.
“You know, water is pretty much the basis of all life on earth and just imagine living a day without having your reusable drinking water and not being able to fill it up in the sink in your own home. It’s just something that I couldn’t really grasp, and I wanted to help,” said Jewell.
Jewel helped install 10 hydro panels on a bilingual school each costing a total of 5,000 to purchase ship and install but he doesn’t want to stop there.
“This great new technology is something that I believe in and truly believe can help millions maybe even billions of people around the world,” said Jewell.
“If my funds increase, I would love to spread the technologies to new countries and first probably to different schools on the island,” said Jewell.
Jewell has already raised $50,000 and is very close to his goal. If you'd like to support his efforts, we'll have more information on our website idahonews6.com. I'm your neighborhood reporter Isaiah Sharp Idaho News 6.
