I had the opportunity to get connected with Lily Muldoon, an inspiring 22 year old who is helping to make positive change in this world through her passions to help the people of Kenya, through the Student Movement for Real Change. Read on to learn more and how you can make a difference and get involved like Lily did!

How has Student Movement helped you in making your passions for change into a reality?

The Student Movement has provided me with a vehicle to make change internationally. The Student Movement provided strong support when I started a chapter at the Claremont Colleges in California. Now the Student Movement is the foundation for the Kenya Water Project.

How did you get the idea for the Kenya Water Project?

I was studying abroad in Kenya with the School for International Training in the spring of 2006. Prior to my departure I read an article in the Denver Post about the severe drought devastating Kenya. With a desire to work with the Kenyan people to do a water project, I made a proposal to the Board of Directors of the Student Movement to approve the project and make it their cause.

What challenges have you encountered working in Kenya and in this project?

I have experienced challenges on three levels while working in Kenya. First, emotionally it is challenging to watch my Kenyan friends and families survive in such adverse conditions. Second, it is physically challenging to personally live in Kayafungo, one of the most arid and poor regions in Kenya, for long periods of time. I have overcome both malaria and intestinal worms, two common diseases in the region. Finally, it is challenging to work in a country with such limited access to communication and transportation.

What are you currently doing?

I graduated in May 2007 from Pomona College with a degree in public policy analysis with an emphasis in biology. I am now working as the Kenya Project Director for the Student Movement for Real Change, organizing our multiple partners and writing grant proposals. I will return to Kenya for a year in February with a Fulbright grant to coordinate pipeline construction and to conduct health and sanitation workshops.

What motivates you in this work?

While in Kayafungo, Kenya I lived with many families and they generously treated me like their own daughter. These families are now my families and I am lucky to have the resources to better their lives by bringing them clean water and health and sanitation education.

How can others get involved?

Go to our website at www.StudentMovementUSA.org. We can provide you with opportunities to start a Student Movement chapter at your own university, to host a house party or to make a donation

Thanks Lily! Find Lily on Razoo at:
http://beta.razoo.com/members/lilymuldoon