Katherine and Isabelle Adams may seem like ordinary girls who like to ride horses and hang with friends in their spare time. However, these 13- and 15-year-old girls have transformed the lives of more than 50,000 people.
Seven years ago, when the girls were just five and eight, they learned that girls their age in developing countries often did not go to school because they were hauling water all day. They also learned that a child died every 15 seconds from unsafe water.
So, Katherine and Isabelle started making origami Christmas ornaments and exchanging them for donations to raise money for water projects. Their efforts grew into the nonprofit organization Paper for Water, through which the girls have raised more than $1.5 million and have helped fund more than 190 water projects in 19 countries.
Today, Katherine and Isabelle, with the help of their parents and younger sister, Trinity, have inspired and mobilized hundreds of volunteers, been featured on Good Morning America, and chaired the 2018 Living Water International Gala.
Isabelle and Katherine want nothing more than to educate the world about the water crisis. They are proof that you don’t have to be a billionaire or a celebrity to make a permanent change in the life of someone who is thirsty.
Their mom, Deborah, says that “the most rewarding thing that’s come from Paper For Water is all the amazingly generous people we get to meet who motivate us to continue what we’re doing.”
Adams family has a gift for bringing people from all walks of life together. From the families of their school friends, to CEOs of major companies, to news anchors and celebrities, Paper For Water has made so many different people aware of the global water crisis. They are true champions of the thirsty!
One of Paper For Water’s goals is to improve the understanding, compassion, and empathy of everyone around them. I see this come to life every time I go to the Adams’ home for their weekly origami folding parties. They welcome and befriend all who are interested regardless of political ideology or religious belief.
The Adams family has created a network of hundreds of people who give countless hours of their time to fold paper to bring safe water to the world. Together, this community lives out Paper For Water’s primary mission to bring water and the Word to the thirsty—one piece of paper at a time.
