By Tiffany Allison
Annie Clawson looks like the average Boone local
with her layered ensemble of thermal shirts and thick socks
and a down vest.
Banner Elk native Annie
Clawson helps bring clean water to people all over
the world through the Wine to Water organization.
Photo by
Tiffany Allison |
She seems like an typical young career woman
living in Boone. She goes to her favorite local coffee shop,
Espresso News, to get her daily cup of coffee like everyone
else.
One would never guess she is the vice president of an organization
whose sole purpose is to bring clean water to the nations
of the world.
Clawson, a native of Banner Elk, said her heart lies with
people living halfway around the world — Cambodia to
be exact. She wants to change the world, and she wants to
start with sanitizing water.
As the vice president of the newly formed non-profit organization,
Wine to Water, Clawson travels to countries around the world
helping to install wells and educating local people about
the importance of clean water.
Wine to Water, created by Doc Hendely, received non-profit
status in 2007. Its goal is simple: Bring clean water to
those who need it.
“It’s hard to explain to someone who is used to
drinking dirty water their whole life that clean water is
better for them,” Clawson said.
“Educating them on why they should drink clean water
is just as important as digging the well, because they aren’t
going to drink it if they like the taste of dirty water.”
The group has drilled 20 wells in remote places out side
of Pennon Pen, Cambodia and plan on raising that number
to 50 next year.
“We walked through rice fields and traveled in boats
just to get to some of the most remote places,” she
said.
Wine to Water not only installs wells, but also employs
people based in these regions to continue their upkeep.
The group has a more developed sister project in Uganda
that mimics the Cambodian project. They hope to institute
in Cambodia the infrastructure that is already in Uganda.
“This is not a long term project,” she said. “Within
a few years they should be self-sustained without us being
there.”
She explained that it’s more valuable to employ local
people rather than someone in the U.S. because it cuts back
on costs while simultaneously giving locals a part to play.
They also feed money back into their community by purchasing
the tool kits and supplies at the local markets.
Clawson said they hope to purchase a tool kit next year
for Cambodia and institute a training program.
“They’re the ones digging the wells,” she
said. “It brings ownership to them and they are proud
of what they accomplished and want to protect it.”
Clawson discovered her love for international work when
she started teaching at Bangkok Grace International School.
After she finished her time in Bangkok, she joined Boone-based
Samaritans’ Purse, working on their Children’s
Heart Project for a year and a half.
The Children’s Heart Project visits pediatric centers
in Uganda, Mongolia, Honduras and Kosvo to find children
who are in need of open-heart surgery but unable to receive
treatment. They fly the children back to the U.S. to receive
the surgery.
After spending many years in foreign countries, Clawson
decided to take a break from international work. Soon after
she swore off traveling, she wandered down Kings Street
into Wine to Water’s office, drawn in by the group’s
interesting name.
Hendley, the executive director of Wine to Water, explained
their name derives from the story of Jesus turning water
into wine to give to people. Wine to water sells bottles
of wine to support its endeavors.
“It was the right thing at the right time,” she
said. “I think life is all about timing.”
Clawson appreciates the freedom and flexibility that comes
with her job — although with what she gains in freedom
she sacrifices in pay.
Wine to Water puts 90 percent of the money raised back into
the non-profit, only leaving 10 percent left between herself
and Hendley.
“I think it is important to be smart and say ‘no’
to things that I don’t need,” she said. “We
want to put people’s money where we say it’s going
towards.”
“When you’ve traveled the world and seen how other
people live you don’t need a lot of material things,”
she said. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of different
things and I have learned a lot.”
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