Mother visits Ethiopian wells built by late daughter's wish

One year after 9-year-old Rachel Beckwith's death from a car crash inspired people around the world to donate more than $1 million to a charity in her honour, her mother was in Ethiopia last week visiting the water wells her philanthropy paid for. Rachel had hoped to raise $300 to bring clean water to an African village when she asked her friends and family to give money to the group charity: water, instead of buying her presents. She was close to that goal in July 2011 when she was killed in a 13-car pileup near her Bellevue, Washington, home. Support for her cause surged and nearly 32,000 people donated $1.25 million by the time the charity closed her campaign in October. Many of those gifts from strangers were for $9 each - a dollar for each year of her short life.



Her mother, Samantha Paul, said on Tuesday her trip to the Tigray region of Ethiopia one year after her daughter died hasn't been as hard as she thought it would be. Seeing the need for water in this area and the people that Rachel's fundraising campaign have helped Paul focus on Rachel's gift, instead of her death, she said. "It made me realize how blessed I am even though I don't have Rachel with me anymore." After arriving on Sunday, Paul, her parents, her pastor and some leaders from charity: water visited two villages that still don't have clean water, so people must collect it from ponds and carry it home. Next, the group stopped to see a well in progress and help with the drilling.



On Monday, they went to some villages that already have wells from Rachel's campaign and were greeted with a parade, welcome parties, signs, poems, speeches and an invitation to plant a tree in a new community park named for Rachel. Paul has been impressed by how far the Ethiopian people have gone to make her feel welcome and to show their appreciation for Rachel. "I feel inadequate. What did I do? They were so grateful and humble - just amazing people," she said. Paul doesn't take credit for Rachel's generosity, saying her child inspired her, not the other way around.


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Rachel had a strong feeling of empathy for others, naturally reaching out to other kids who were struggling at school or with problems at home. In kindergarten, she donated her hair to a charity that makes wigs for kids who lost their hair because of cancer treatments. Twice in her short life, she gave up Christmas presents so her family could adopt others in need, her mother said. After their church, Eastlake Community Church in Bothell, Washington, raised more than $400,000 for charity: water, Rachel expressed her desire to raise money for the charity and help children in Africa. "There's something about Rachel and her story that has touched people and inspired them," Paul said. "She was such a special girl."