Jonathan Snyder of Destrehan, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, founded World Outreach after getting involved in international mission trips while still in high school in Destrehan.
While in Uganda last year, Snyder said, he visited the village of Namungo, home to 2,500 people to begin the process of building a well there. Once built, the well will also be accessible to a few thousand more people who live in four or five villages nearby, he said. His group also hopes to build a school there one day.
Snyder said he found that residents in the village share a pond with animals, and it felt surreal to return to the United States.
“You come back home, and you’re at an event, and there’s hundreds of water bottles on tables,” he said.
Snyder’s cause brought him to Mandeville High School to raise funds for the Ugandan village. The principal, Bruce Bundy, shaved his head to help.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, about 783 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
Snyder said the well will be dug during his upcoming visit to the village between March 31 and April 7.