As of the print date, Dusty Wittman and Roxanne Borowska had raised nearly $3500. As of late August, they have raised nearly $8500 and continue to fundraise!
Printed in the Asahi Shimbun on July 16th, 2011. Kindly translated by Jared Hayes (ALT, Nagasaki 2006-09) of Rocky Mountain JETAA.
Dusty Wittman (right) and Roxanne Borowska (left) having just crossed Lake Biwa in their PET bottle boat. – Otsu City, Imakatada 3rd district, Manohama Beach
On Aug. 16th, two Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), who work at high schools in Shiga Prefecture, constructed a boat measuring two meters in length made from 815 plastic PET bottles. Their goal was to paddle cross nearby Lake Biwa in their creation and raise money for orphans who lost their parents in the Tohoku disaster.
The two ALTs who took on this challenge were Dusty Whittman (30) from the U.S. and Roxanne Borowska (26) from the U.K. Starting from Moriyama City and finishing at Otsu City on the other side of the lake, they paddled two kilometers in a little over an hour. When fund raising in the U.S., your commitment is often proven through your performance.
They began their preparations by collecting PET bottles from their peers and students. They said that they wanted to demonstrate their love for Japan and Japanese children through action.
Wittman and Borowska launched their donation website (http://ilovenihon.com/) on August 3rd and already raised 300,000+ yen. Ms. Borowska expressed how excited she was to get support from the people in her town, and how she hopes to garner even more support from their project.
