In Oklahoma City, we met Ryan Jones and Paige Arter, two 14-year-old kids who have taken up the cause of Wishing Well. Ryan and Paige both took it in their hands to raise money in their schools to help provide clean drinking water in Africa. They started the day by walking 2 miles carrying large drums of dirty water in honor of a Rwandan youth named Eden–a 13-year-old boy who spends his days carting 45 lbs of dirty water miles for his family. Check out Wishing Well @ www.wishingwellafrica.com for more information on this worthy cause and the kids who are working hard to make a difference on the African continent.
We then headed west to Houston, TX to meet a world innovating scientist and inventor whose invention could quite possibly rewrite energy use around the world. 15-year-old Javier Fernandez-Han’s invention the V.E.R.S.A.T.I.L.E. system “is a comprehensive algae-powered system for treating waste, producing methane and bio-oil as fuel, producing food for humans and livestock, and sequestering greenhouse gases while producing oxygen.” In layman terms, Javier plans on focusing on the world’s population that lives in desperate conditions to better their lives in practical ways while helping make them self-sustaining. Also, Javier recently founded Inventors without Borders, a summer camp that will bring other socially conscientious youths from across the country together to try and tackle issues that plague third world countries. Along with winning a $20K scholarship for his invention, Javier also secured a $35K grant to further develop his invention. In more popular terms…Javier is legit. This is a socially aware teenager with a heart the size of this boundless intellect who plans on changing the world on a large scale.
After our inspiring time with these kids, we headed out to Dallas, TX. Tomorrow we’ll be at the Cowboy Ranch, Little Rock, AR, and Chicago, IL. Stay tuned to Facebook, the blog, and our Twitter account for more updates.