COURTESY PHOTO
Water Stream organizers playing video games, from left, Stefano Hernandez, Shazivan Kordha and Tristan Smith.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Five Swampscott natives and college students will host a live streaming video game marathon to combat the water crisis.
Stefano Hernandez, 20, a student at the University of Massachusetts, said the second annual Water Stream will be held at noon on May 14.
The 24-hour online charity event is intended to raise money for the Thirst Project, a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water to the needy.
Shazivan Kordha, 19, and Tristan Smith, 20, students at Salem State University, Jesse Tuttle, 20, a student in Chicago, and Angel Sandoval, 21, comprise the other members of the team. Along with Hernandez, they will be join gamers to play a wide variety of video games, attempt challenges and create awareness about the need for clean water in the world.
“The Water Stream blends video games and philanthropy in an unprecedented way to combat the startling fact that 663 million people on the planet lack access to the most basic commodity of all — clean water,” Smith said in a statement.
Last year, they raised more than $3,000. This time, the team hopes to raise twice as much, or about half the amount needed to pay for a $12,000 water well. Hernandez said each well serves about 500 people. A $25 donation to the Water Stream gives one person clean water for life.
The donations will also go towards implementing wells and filtration systems so communities worldwide can access water. People in the U.S. don’t seem to know too much about the water crisis, he said. But they are becoming more aware as a result of the controversy in Flint, Mich., where dangerous lead levels were found in the water.
He said the idea for the event came from wanting to tap into the untouched market of video games for charity efforts. Hernandez said Smith initially found out about the Thirst Project and thought it was a good idea to play video games for awareness. Often, he said people have the perception that gamers are lazy.
“There are a lot of caring people who are into video games that can make a positive impact,” Hernandez said.
The Water Stream organizers have also joined the Thirst Project’s “Students for Swaziland” initiative, to rid that country of thirst by 2022.
Hernandez said people in the developing African country can’t go to school because they are walking miles to bring jugs of water back home daily.
Gamers participating in the stream will provide entertainment for people who can tune in for free at attwitch.tv/Shiny_Catnip. To donate to the Water Stream and learn more about the cause, visit my.thirstproject.org/WaterStream.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.