Cape teen raising money for African wells

At 16, Jared Ritter of Cape Girardeau has won the bronze in the Junior Olympics for sparring, created a Bible study group, written two unpublished books and had the student government voting process changed when he was in the fifth grade. Now, he is collecting aid donations for African countries.

"He's very go-oriented," said his mother, Laura Ritter.

On Friday, Jared will run "as much as people want me to" in order to bring in donation money for an African campaign called "1,000 Wells," which is supported by the charity "Blood: Water Mission." The campaign uses donated money to support water-well construction in African countries.

Laura said Jared is already thinking about colleges and has said he would like to be a journalist or a lawyer, jobs where he could help people. His past also shows he has a record of being an active person.

He practices taekwondo three days a week and is a second-degree black belt at Lee Park's Martial Parks Institute in Cape Girardeau, where he has been attending the past ten years. When he was 10, he won the bronze medal for taekwondo sparring in the Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tenn, his mother said.

When he was in the fifth grade at Clippard Elementary School, he fought to change his grade's student election system, Laura Ritter said. She said Jared thought it wasn't a fair election process because council members were chosen from a hat by the teacher. Jared said the students should be able to vote for who they want, she said.

Jared hopes the run will alert people to the problem of finding potable water in Africa, which is something Americans rarely have to worry about, he said.

"People in Africa walk ten miles to get water," Jared said. "We take it for granted; we buy it in a store or get in a faucet."

Jared will run from Broadway and Lorimier Street in Cape Girardeau to South Hope Street in Jackson, he said. Going up Broadway, he will go north on Kingshighway, turn at Jackson Boulevard and take South Hope Street until he arrives at the Sonic and Country Mart. He said the route from Jackson Boulevard to South Hope Street is ten miles and he will run back and forth on the stretch to reach his goal of 20 miles.

He said running would help bring attention to the issue because a runner needs water to run.

"After people run, they're thirsty," Jared said. "It sort of puts us in their [Africans] shoes."

Jared also choose running as a way to raise awareness because sports are his hobbies, he said. He often goes to work out at the gym, and last spring he ran the mile on the Central High School track and field team.

"I figure one of my gifts is running," Jared said. "I figure I can use this to help make a difference."

The Friday run will be the third time Jared has publicly raised money for the campaign. Last Saturday he held a car wash where barely 20 patrons showed up over four hours but $554 was raised, Jared said. Two weeks before the car wash, he and another friend advertised the campaign while sitting at a table in front of West Park Mall. They earned $125 in donations, Jared said. Along the way, friends and family have also donated money, he said.

An account for the charity has been open at Capaha Bank, and those who want to donate should ask for the "Blood: Water Mission" charity, he said.

At first, Jared said he didn't want to set a goal of raising a particular amount of money because he thought it would hinder him from raising more money.

"I wanted to go all out," Jared said.

Eventually, he did set a goal of a $1,000, but he said he's already broken that.

adohogne@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 210

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