Ohio State’s chapter of Nourish International is holding an event called Nourish Olympics to raise money for a water pipe that will supply a community in Peru with water.
The fundraiser, taking place on Feb. 13 at the RPAC, is open to all OSU students and will consist of basketball, dodgeball and mat-ball. Teams will play in each event and can win gift baskets and certificates.
Mackenzie Rapp, a fourth-year in international studies and a founder of OSU’s Nourish International chapter, said the event is being held to raise part of the $8,000 needed for the project in Peru. If the group reaches their goal of $4,000, MOCHE, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to improving impoverished life in Peru, has agreed to make up the other half of the sum.
To compete in Nourish Olympics, teams of eight are required. At least two of the eight must be girls. Cost is $40 per team or $5 per person. To sign up, e-mail [email protected].
Rapp said if everything goes as planned, the group will travel to Peru this summer to help with the project they are paying for.
“What makes Nourish different from other groups is that we get to see the project the whole way through,” Rapp said. “After we raise money, we actually get to complete it.”
Rapp said the group has extra motivation to complete the project because the government of Peru has pledged to build a reservoir for the community once the water pipe is in place.
“We voted for the MOCHE, Inc. project for the summer because water is one of the most important things for life. We have the opportunity to finish this project and ensure that an entire town can access water so much more easily,” said Lisa Nishimura, a second-year in marketing and a member of OSU’s Nourish International chapter.
Last year, members of Nourish International traveled to Bolivia to work on an orphanage.
“This was an option again for this summer, and although this was a close second, we decided to spread the wealth and help out a different part of the world in a different way,” Nishimura said.
Although the group raises money for their projects, members of the Nourish International chapter must finance their own trip. Rapp said that students must come up with that money by themselves.
Nishimura believes that is the way it should be.
“I really like that the fundraiser profits don’t go towards any travel expenses but straight to the project and people that need it,” Nishimura said.
Rapp said that members usually hold fundraisers outside of the group to raise money for their trip, but that it’s worth the effort to be able to help those less fortunate.
“It’s an eye-opening experience,” Rapp said. “They don’t have the resources we do, we are very lucky.”
Nourish International meets at 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday in 173 Mendenhall Laboratory.
