SIFE team travels to South Africa to build water purification system

December 13, 2007
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, (417) 865-2815 ext. 7292

Springfield, Mo. — Ten members of Evangel University’s Students in Free Enterprise and three faculty mentors will travel to South Africa from Dec. 30 to Jan. 11 to teach economic and hygiene principles and help an orphanage by installing a water purification system.

The group will also attend business presentations and training, as well as distribute The Book of Hope to villages near Rustenburg, South Africa.

“Hopefully this knowledge will spread and hundreds of people will have clean water”
— Elizabeth Fletcher, leader of the trip and business department chair

This semester five students partnered with Convoy of Hope to learn how to assemble the water purification system. Eleven village leadership teams will be trained by the students. This training will provide the knowledge to create filtration systems in each of their locations.

“Hopefully this knowledge will spread and hundreds of people will have clean water,” said Elizabeth Fletcher, leader of the trip and business department chair.

In addition to distribution of The Book of Hope in hospitals and schools, and delivery of care packages to AIDs orphans, student learning experiences include training by an international logistics director who conducts business in over 30 countries; marketing and promotion training by leaders in the safari and game industry; and study of the diamond industry.

Each student earned or raised $3,000 for the trip.

Each year Evangel SIFE teams participate in an International Business study tour. Past trips have allowed students to study in China.

Team members are:

Andrew Bruner – junior management major from Iron Mountain, Minn.
Marla Cantwell – Degree Completion management major from Springfield, Mo.
Sam Chojnacki – senior management major from Troy, Minn.
Joshua Fletcher – Hillcrest High School sophomore (dual enrolled at Evangel) from Springfield, Mo.
Tim Fraticelli – junior management major from Wheatfield, Ind.
Jordan Izumi – senior management major from Kaneohe, Hawaii
Rebecca Jantz – senior management major from Snohomish, Wash.
Kera Newman – junior accounting major from Sitka, Alaska
Josh Young – sophomore management major from Beavercreek, Ohio

Faculty members are:

Dr. Mark Maynard – professor of business
Elizabeth Fletcher – business department chair
Dr. Robert Bartels – associate professor of social science