ELSHA STOCKSETH

Elsha era unha artista de Ogden, Utah, que naceu o 28 de agosto de 1983 cunha forma de Distrofia Muscular Espiñal chamada Werdnig-Hoffman. Os médicos dixéronlle aos seus pais que non podería facer nada, pero salvo camiñar, fixo moitas cousas. Realizou creacións artísticas dende que era pequena, polas que recibiu moitos premios ao longo dos anos. Mentres asistía á Sunset Junior High School, expuxo o seu traballo nunha biblioteca de Ogden. Obtivo unha beca Sterling Scholar en arte cando estudaba na Northridge High School, e graduouse da educación secundaria cunha media de sobresaínte. Máis tarde, continuou a súa educación no Utah Career College, onde aprendeu a usar Adobe Photoshop. 

Unha das súas paixóns era participar cos seus amigos en carreiras pola natureza. Un día viu por casualidade unha publicación de Facebook onde alguén buscaba a xente para formar un equipo, e ela respondeu de broma que lle gustaría formar parte do grupo, e así foi como comezou. Empezaron a empuxala na súa cadeira en carreiras de varias distancias como 5K, 10K, medias maratóns, maratóns e ata algúns triatlóns. Encantáballe interactuar con todos os atletas, sentíase incriblemente libre, e despois describíalles as carreiras aos seus pais cun sorriso enorme na cara. 

Tamén coñeceu a moita xente famosa. Elsha era unha grande fan do grupo de rock U2, cos que tivo varios encontros dende que os seus pais a levaron ao seu primeiro concerto en 2005. Encantáballe pasar tempo con eles, e en especial recibir notas personalizadas e debuxos de Bono. O compromiso da banda en favor de varias causas, e en particular o compromiso de Bono, un activista cuxo traballo se basea nos feitos para buscar a xustiza de xeito pragmático, co-fundador de ONE e (RED), inspirouna a facer ela mesma unha contribución á sociedade. Decidiu facelo creando obras de arte, e recompensando á comunidade ao mesmo tempo, esperando que a súa destreza inspirase e axudase a outras persoas.

Aínda que xa non podía empregar os brazos para debuxar e pintar, grazas ao seu ordenador e a un rato sensible ao movemento que controlaba coa súa cabeza, Elsha deseñaba postais. Quería axudar aos orfos e aos nenos desfavorecidos, polo que creou as súas tarxetas de Nadal "eArt" que vendía a persoas de todo o mundo  a través do seu propio sitio web, eartbyelsha.com, onde contaba a súa historia. Os beneficios axudáronlle a financiar a escolarización dun neno de Kenia, Michael, e destinaba unha parte das ganancias a mercar agasallos para nenos en África, México e Ecuador.

Elsha doaba parte dos ingresos a African Well Fund, unha organización fundada por fans de U2 que recada fondos para construír e manter pozos de auga doce na África Subsahariana, e busca concienciar acerca do problema e as súas solucións. Cando unha comunidade ten acceso á auga limpa poden cambiar moitas cousas, pois mellora a saúde das persoas, fai que medre a economía local, e axuda a que os nenos pasen máis tempo na escola. Dende o ano 2002, a xente fai doazóns en honor do aniversario de Bono, o 10 de maio, na recadación de fondos "Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday". O total recadado ascende a 1.012.242,88 de dólares, que se adicaron a levar a cabo 314 proxectos de auga limpa e saneamento que beneficiaron a 335.253 persoas en 15 países africanos.

En 2021, co lema “Carry Each Other”, escollido por Marilyn Linch, inspirado pola canción One, African Well Fund colaborou con The Outer Loop Theater Experience para construír un pozo en Msona, Tanzania, situado no terreo da escola secundaria. Ata entón, a aldea non tiña un punto onde conseguir auga limpa, e a escola non tiña auga para os aseos. A construción do pozo serviría a 3.500 persoas. A recadación de fondos estendeuse durante todo o mes de maio e o obxectivo estaba establecido en 12.000 dólares, o que restaba para poder levar a cabo o proxecto ese verán.

A recadación de fondos para o pozo de Msona superou o obxectivo inicial e durante o verán, nun tempo récord, a comunidade local foi máis alá do proxectado inicialmente, pois en lugar de conformarse coa construción dun pozo, ademais cavaron canais para levar a auga por toda a aldea. Como resultado, agora hai dez puntos de auga na aldea, reducindo drasticamente o tempo que as mulleres e os nenos adican cada día a desprazarse para recoller auga nun río habitado por crocodilos. E non só iso, senón que por primeira vez os estudantes dispoñen de auga corrente nos baños da escola secundaria.

En novembro dese ano Elsha estivo no St. George Regional Hospital loitando contra unha neumonía por aspiración e distrofia muscular avanzada. Mentres estaba na unidade de coidados intensivos, recibiu unha mensaxe de vídeo de Bono. Aínda que estaba perdendo a capacidade de falar e custáballe respirar coa súa máscara, os seus pais puideron ver que tiña os ollos cheos de ledicia e un gran sorriso. Outros membros da banda tamén se puxeron en contacto con ela, algo que a aledou moito nos seus difíciles últimos días. Faleceu o 18 de novembro de 2021 aos 38 anos.

En abril de 2024 African Well Fund anunciou que este ano debido á incrible xenerosidade da súa comunidade de doadores, poderán financiar un segundo proxecto cos fondos recadados en 2023, que  estará dedicado á memoria de Elsha Stockseth. Será unha iniciativa de recollida de augas pluviais que proporcionará 50 depósitos de auga de choiva para Rwankuba, unha comunidade no suroeste de Uganda. Actualmente, os membros da comunidade deben percorrer entre 3 e 4 quilómetros por terreos escarpados para levar auga das fontes do val. A recollida de augas pluviais identificouse como un método axeitado para aumentar o acceso á auga potable desta comunidade. O traballo no proxecto comezará en abril de 2024. A organización está desexando compartir as actualizacións a medida que as reciban, e agradecen aos doadores que lles permitan facelo posible e honrar a memoria de Elsha.

Durante este mes de maio, a 22ª recadación anual de fondos "Build a Well for Bono's Birthday" en homenaxe ao 64 aniversario de Bono, ten como obxectivo recadar 20.000 dólares para construír dez pozos en dez aldeas do condado de Homa Bay, Kenia, que proporcionarán auga potable limpa e segura para máis de 3.500 persoas.

Texto actualizado: 10/05/2024

Elsha was an artist from Ogden, Utah, who was born on August 28, 1983 with a form of Spinal Muscular Dystrophy called Werdnig-Hoffman. The doctors told her parents that she couldn't do anything, but except for walking, she did a lot of things. She made artistic creations since she was little, for which she received many awards over the years. While attending Sunset Junior High School, she exhibited her work at a library in Ogden. She earned a Sterling Scholar in art while attending Northridge High School, and she graduated from high school with an outstanding GPA. Later, she continued her education at the Utah Career College, where she learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop.

One of her passions was to participate in trail running races with her friends. One day she happened to see a Facebook post where someone was looking for people to form a team, and she jokingly replied that she would like to be part of the group, and that's how  she began. They started pushing her in her chair in races of various distances like 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, marathons and even some triathlons. She loved interacting with all the athletes, she felt incredibly free, and then she described the races to her parents with a huge smile on her face.

She also met many famous people. Elsha was a huge fan of the rock group U2, with whom she had several encounters since her parents took her to their first concert in 2005. She loved spending time with them, and especially receiving personalized notes and drawings from Bono. The band's commitment to various causes, and in particular the commitment of Bono, an activist whose work is fact-based to seek justice in a pragmatic way, co-founder of ONE and (RED), inspired her to make a contribution to society. She decided to do so by creating works of art, and rewarding the community at the same time, hoping that her skill would inspire and help others.

Although she could no longer use her arms to draw and paint, thanks to her computer and a motion-sensitive mouse she controlled with her head, Elsha designed postcards. She wanted to help orphans and disadvantaged children, so she created her "eArt" Christmas cards which she sold to people all over the world through her own website, eartbyelsha.com , where she told her story. The profits helped fund the schooling of a Kenyan boy, Michael, and she used a portion of the earnings to buy gifts for children in Africa, Mexico and Ecuador.

Elsha donated part of the proceeds to the African Well Fund, an organization founded by U2 fans that raises funds to build and maintain freshwater wells in sub-Saharan Africa, and seeks to raise awareness about the problem and its solutions. When a community has access to clean water many things can change, as it improves people’s health, it grows the local economy, and it helps children spend more time in school. Since 2002, people have been making donations in honor of Bono’s birthday, the 10th of May, in the fundraiser "Build a Well for Bono’s Birthday". The total raised amounts to $ 1,012,242.88, which was dedicated to carrying out 314 clean water and sanitation projects that benefited 335,253 people in 15 African countries.

In 2021, with the motto “Carry Each Other”, chosen by Marilyn Lynch, inspired by the song One, African Well Fund collaborated with The Outer Loop Theater Experience to build a well in Msona, Tanzania, located on the grounds of the secondary school. Until then, the village did not have a point where to get clean water, and the school had no water for toilets. The construction of the well would serve 3,500 people. The fundraiser spanned the entire month of May, and the goal was set at $12,000, which was enough to get the project done that summer.

Fundraising for the Msona well exceeded the initial goal and during the summer, in record time, the local community went above and beyond what was initially planned, because instead of settling for the construction of a well, in addition they also dug canals to carry water through the whole village. As a result, there are now ten water points in the village, drastically reducing the time women and children spend each day travelling to collect water from a river inhabited by crocodiles. And not only that, but for the first time students have running water in the high school restrooms.

In November of that year Elsha was at St. George Regional Hospital battling aspirated pneumonia and advanced muscular dystrophy. While in the intensive care unit, she received a video message from Bono. Even though she was losing the ability to speak and it was hard to breathe in her mask, her parents could see that her eyes were full of joy and she had a big smile. Other members of the band also reached out to her, something that made her so happy in her difficult last days. She died on November 18, 2021 at the age of 38.

In April 2024 African Well Fund announced that this year due to the incredible generosity of their donor community, they will be able to fund a second project with the funds raised in 2023, which will be dedicated to the memory of Elsha Stockseth. It will be a rainwater harvesting initiative that will provide 50 rainwater tanks for Rwankuba, a community in southwestern Uganda. Currently, community members must walk 3 to 4 kilometers across steep terrain to carry water from valley sources. Rainwater harvesting has been identified as a suitable method to boost access to drinking water in this community. Work on the project will begin in April 2024. The organization looks forward to sharing updates as they are received, and it is grateful to donors who help to make this possible and to honor Elsha's memory.

During the month of May, the 22nd annual "Build a Well for Bono's Birthday" fundraiser in honor of Bono's 64th birthday, aims to raise $20,000 to build ten wells in villages in Homa Bay County, Kenya, which will provide clean and safe drinking water for more than 3,500 people.

Updated text: 10/05/2024