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PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY TIMMER

BIKING FOR WELLS. University of Puget Sound junior Emily Timmer took a semester off to prepare for a bike trip down the Pacific Coast. Timmer is trying to raise money to build wells in India, and to raise awareness about the dire need for clean water in the country’s more rural areas.

UPS student takes semester to help others

By Meghan Erkkinen

Emily Timmer admits she has always been somewhat of an overachiever. The University of Puget Sound junior is studying exercise science and spends her extra time running cross-country and track.

But in January, this overachiever and Tacoma Baptist graduate uncharacteristically decided to take a semester off.

“It was too much focus on my grades, my career and my degree and I wanted to do something for other people,” Timmer said. “Sometimes you have to do something a little out of the ordinary to wake yourself up.”

And she certainly is doing something out of the ordinary. On June 27, Timmer is embarking on a month-long bicycle trip from the Canadian to the Mexican borders to raise money to build wells in India.

Timmer, who said she has never been to India, described the plight of many rural, impoverished Indians.

“It’s so foreign to us, but these women wake up and that’s their only thought – ‘how am I going to get clean water today?’” she said.

An organization in India called Gospel for Asia collects donations to drill wells deep enough to get clean ground water. One well – which usually costs around $1,000 to drill – can support a small village. To these impoverished Indians, the water is called “sweet water,” because that is how it tastes after drinking muddied water from ponds, Timmer said.

The cause seems extremely necessary and important for Timmer, but it has been more challenging convincing others to help out. During her semester off, in addition to planning the trip and training, Timmer has been trying to raise money. She began trying in earnest to raise funds April 1.

She has approached businesses, churches and local service clubs, as well as family members and friends to give flat donations or to sponsor segments of her bike trip. The task has proved challenging.

“It is kind of like a really difficult full-time job that’s really disheartening,” she said, but added that the positive responses keep her going.

“That yes is going to be worth it,” she said. “I don’t regret a minute of it.”

As the trip start date draws closer, Timmer is also spending more time on her bike to prepare. Every day, she goes for four- to five-hour rides. She is also studying bike safety and maintenance.

Timmer will depart from Blaine, Wash., near the Peace Arch and will follow Highway 101 down the California coast to the border at Tijuana, Mexico. Her family will follow her in a car for support, and will also join her on bike for segments of the journey.

“It’s a beautiful way to see America,” she said of the trip.

She will spend about six hours a day cycling, and the whole trip will take about 27 days, including four rest days. She will not make reservations along the way, but will find places to stop and rest as she goes.

Also as she travels down the coast, Timmer will keep a blog with photos and daily updates for all her supporters to read. She expects to end the trip around July 25.

While Timmer hopes to reap personal benefits from her journey, she also hopes it inspires other people to refocus their lives and do something that benefits other people.

“It’s really cool, but not cool in a trite way. It’s actually something concrete,” Timmer said. “It’s an incredibly fulfilling thing, to help people.”

For more information on Timmer’s trip, information on how to help, and a link to her blog, visit www.wells4india.com.

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