Students in small clusters walk down a street where tents serve
as homes, passing out bottles of water to the scattered
residents.
It’s another day in “Tent City,” and the
homeless are thankful to receive a necessity that is difficult to
come by in their community.
The Water Project, a registered UCLA student organization,
strives to provide water and other supplies to struggling
residents, but their main goal goes beyond material charity.
“Our primary goal is to open up a dialogue, and change
people’s ideas on the streets as well as our own,” said
Mark Michalski, fourth year cybernetics and neuroscience student,
and president of The Water Project.
Many of the downtown homeless don’t have hope for the
future, and The Water Project’s goal is to show residents
that different lifestyles are available to them, he said.
Last Sunday, most of the residents reacted well to the students
and their intentions, as they made their weekly rounds.
“I think (The Water Project) is a great deed that (the
students) are doing. You’re soldiers,” said Stoney
House, one of the residents.
House told the group that he needed a jacket for the cold
weather. The group tries to bring in supplies like clothing and
food, but their charity depends mostly on informal donations.
Donators range from companies like Fiji, a water company, to the
volunteers’ friends. The group takes whatever is offered,
giving a variety of necessities to the downtown homeless, Michalski
said.
Fiji donated 480 one-liter bottles to the group, who spread
their supply out over the summer.
Last Sunday, volunteers passed out 793 bottles of water donated
by an anonymous sponsor, and 150 sack lunches provided by
Mortorboard, a community service group.
Fiji’s sponsorship of the project has run out, and the
group is in the process of finding another sponsor, said
Michalski.
Volunteers handed out their supplies, to the residents around
the San Pedro area.
“We go down side-streets. We don’t set up
lines,” he said.
The student volunteers went through areas usually avoided by
L.A. residents. The streets were lined with people who spend nights
without a roof over their heads.
Volunteers were prepared to assist these people by giving them
massive amounts of bottled water.
“This is going to be something that stays with me
forever,” said Carrie Ng, first-year undeclared student,
before the group set out to “Tent City.”
Ng found out about The Water Project through a flier, and became
increasingly interested in the organization when she contacted
Michalski.
Michalski and his team have been informing students about their
five-month-old project by speaking in front of classes and passing
out fliers, he said.
Some of Michalski’s friends joined the organization to
support him, and found a new perspective of the L.A. community.
“Volunteering really opens your eyes. (You see) a
completely different world,” said Chris Hoklotubbe,
second-year philosophy and study of religion student, during the
event.
The seed for the weekly event was planted on a hot
summer’s day, when Michalski thought about the downtown
homeless he had seen earlier, and wondered if they needed
water.
He went to San Pedro with a few friends and handed out the
much-needed water, and The Water Project was formed.
The group goes downtown most weekends with a number that can
range from a few volunteers to about twenty.
They split up into small clusters and bring as much water as
they can fit into their backpacks.
Each cluster goes to different areas for distribution, and
restocks their supplies throughout the event.
Residents are usually grateful and welcoming to student
volunteers, while some keep to themselves and pass up the
offer.
The students’ assistance to the community is highly
appreciated, said Lamon Hall, a “Tent City”
resident.
“I love (The Water Project). They bring something we all
need,” he said.
For more information, or to get involved with The Water Project,
e-mail Mark Michalski at mhm@ucla.edu