The competition is now over and both teams can celebrate.
Blue Devils can be happy about winning both rivalry basketball games of the season while Tar Heels can be proud about winning the water filter donation contest. It was a close call with the $2600 in donations split $1350 UNC (54 donors) vs $1250 Duke (50 donors), but UNC triumphed. We received many donations from Chapel Hill., Durham, Charlotte and even out of state. Please see some highlights of our donations below and our appreciation blog post titled “People are Awesome”.
Because of your donations and the matching funds we lined up, we’re going to be able to fund filters for 200 families in two different villages. UNC donors wallowing in the pain of today’s loss can take solace that these filters will be painted Tar Heel blue! Another outcome of the contest is that Aidan will be wearing a Duke shirt at Qdoba on Franklin street a few days after we get back to the US, in early July and he’ll need to wear a UNC shirt to school for a week. Photos of him wearing a UNC shirt will be posted on aztechlabs.org.
Coincidentally, the day of the big game we visited the first village we have sponsored, Nelavagilu for a dedication ceremony for their water 100 filters. During part of the ceremony, we met with kids our own ages who attend the local village government school. We gave all of them soap and note books (so that they would know more about sanitation) and a piece of candy. One of the boys wanted to show us discolored patches of skin on his face which we learned was caused by worms that come from their unfiltered water supply.
Many children suffer at home from these worms and the occasional pain in their stomachs from the worms sometimes prevents them from attending school. The children wanted to let us know they are happy to have these filters in their school and will encourage their parents to also use them at home. A few photos of the village are available at http://aztechlabs.org/2013/03/photos-from-our-2nd-visit-to-nelavagilu/ We have been overwhelmed with the attention from newspapers and from your generous donations.
In addition to the 4 articles already written about our contest, Raleigh’s News & Observer will be writing an article this week about Aztech Labs and the outcome of this competition. So if you want to know more about what we’ve been doing after the contest, look for article a week from now. In the end, everyone wins. The villagers get clean water, Duke won both regular season basketball games, and UNC won our donation competition. Our fundraising efforts continue. Please check back on our website for more updates.
Special Donors
Matt P. and his friends – $300 – Duke – These Duke students raised money from Duke Students for a week by setting up a table outside of the student center
Welcome, NC Church – Fellowship and Friendship classes raised over $250
Barbara “Buzzer Beater” B. – $25 – Duke – (Last Person to Donate)