follow up on caps partnership- a student's perspective

The following is written by Max Levins, a Senior in Blue Valley CAPS Innovate program.  Max and his partner created a product to make transporting water easier on the body, while still embracing the cultural norms of the target population.


What Inspired You to do a Philanthropic Project?
When I decided to take CAPS Innovate, I knew that I wanted to create a solution that would be of help to some person, whether or not it would be for profit. Once I began doing research on different problem areas, I found a partner who was interested in helping people in developing countries. The idea of trying to help people in need, particularly during my senior year in high school, was very appealing. I could devote my time to it without having to worry about making money right away. Instead of having to rush a product to the point where it could be sold, my partner and I could carefully build it so that it ends up being higher quality. 


How Did You Come to Decide on Water Transportation?
Once we did research on issues in developing countries, we found -- primarily through online surveys -- that people felt the lack of sanitary water is the most significant problem that developing countries currently face; however, we had no context of what the specifics of this problem are.  We had come up with a couple of solutions for how to solve certain aspects of this problem, such as the transportation of the water,  but we didn't know how to apply our ideas to the problem area, specifically the culture.

How did ACI Get Involved and What are Your Impressions?
In order to gain context, we contacted David Neely, who was a phenomenal resource in developing our knowledge of this problem area. Because Mr. Neely is an expert in how these cultures operate, we were able to take some of that knowledge and apply it our ideas for solutions.  ACI seems like one of the better ways for people to really make a difference through ways other than donations. Once our product is finalized, we hope to partner with a charity organization that is as succesful as ACI in order to provide the aid that our product will carry out.

We are thankful for the dedication of students like Max and others at CAPS who dedicate their time, energy, and even senior projects to helping others.