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FEATURE STORY
November 19, 2014 Contact Information:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mawuena Sedodo, Student
Office: (708) 692-3096
E-mail: sedodoma@shu.edu
LISA HARPER: CHANGING THE WORLD ONE WELL AT A TIME
MORRISTOWN, New Jersey – Lisa Harper inspires many with her humanitarian work.
On this hot summer day, Harper reclines back in her bright red hospital chair and
recalls her work in El Salvador.
“Once you find water, you have to lower pipes down into the ground and
assemble them, prep the area and keep it well clean,” says Harper. “It involves dirty,
exhausting, 12-hour days – but I can’t wait to go back and do it again.”
Harper is a 22-year-old nurse who spends her days delivering babies at the
Morristown Memorial Hospital’s maternity ward. On Dec. 3, Harper will be honored
with the Volunteer of the Year Award at the annual Volunteer Recognition Event in
Morristown.
Harper and other volunteers from her church teamed up with an organization
called Living Water to dig water wells in rural areas of El Salvador. One well can serve
400 people for up to 20 years. Currently, 16 percent of people living in El Salvador do
not have access to clean drinking water near their homes.
“El Salvador is a developing nation, and the government has not been able to fund
clean water for everyone,” says Harper.
The job of digging wells is not easy. Volunteers must dig holes by hand, and each
hole is about one-eighth of a mile long.

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Still, Harper plans on going back to El Salvador in January, which is part of her
plan to make three trips a year to dig wells. She and her fellow church members have
made it their mission to build 20 wells within the next 10 years.
“Digging wells can be tiresome – often times downright frustrating,” Harper says.
“But nothing gives me greater joy than seeing a child with a smile on their face and clean
water in their cup.”