Abington High School junior Vidhu Nath has been named a Great American Hero by Great American Opportunities, a company that provides fundraising services to school groups. Vidhu was honored for his work with H2O for Life, which raises funds to provide fresh water to people in underdeveloped nations.
One of four students nationally to receive the honor, he was presented with a $500 check to H2O for Life during a surprise ceremony in his social studies class. Vidhu is treasurer of H2O for Life’s Abington chapter. Since 2008, the group has raised $14,000 to fund a deep boar well in Mali, Africa, and a water catchment system in New Delhi, India. This year it is raising funds to provide a village school in Nicaragua with a shallow boar well, latrines, and a wash house.
According to H2O for life, nearly one billion people worldwide live without access to clean water, and more than two billion live without access to sanitation facilities. The organization estimates that two million people die every year from diarrhea-related diseases, the majority of them children younger than age 5.
