The National Young
Women of Distinction honor is given by Girl Scouts of the USA to the top ten
Girl Scout Gold Award recipients whose Take Action projects demonstrated
outstanding leadership, had a measurable and sustainable impact, and addressed
a local challenge related to a national and/or global issue. The girls and
their projects will be showcased on the blog in advance of being honored at the
2014 Girl Scout Convention in Salt Lake City this October.
Morgan Serventi: Unleashing the Power of Poo!
Age: 18
Hometown: Paige, Arizona
Inspiration:
Last year, Morgan left her hometown and embarked on a
mission trip to Wamba, Kenya. In preparation for her adventure, she did some
digging into the conflicts related to resource scarcity and energy use. In
rural areas such as this one, firewood is burnt as a source of power. She found
that scavenging for this wood is challenging and, a lot of the time, unfruitful
for the women put to the task in many communities. On top of that, the practice
results in deforestation, health problems, burn accidents, and food and water
sanitation issues, and it also becomes the source of family conflict. Women are
often beaten when they cannot provide enough wood for their families. Morgan decided
this was the perfect challenge to tackle for her Gold Award project.
How Morgan Is Changing the World:
Luckily, Morgan arrived at an awesome, exciting, and slightly
smelly solution. She discovered that methane gas can be produced and used as a source
of energy using a manure digester. With livestock, the magic ingredient is not
hard to find. The manure digester itself costs only ten dollars to build from
recyclable materials and produces enough methane to power a stove burner. She
found this to be an easy, sustainable, and efficient method of power generation.
Morgan presented the design to her hometown of Page, Arizona, as well as the
surrounding Navajo reservation before bringing it all the way to Wamba, Kenya.
Thanks to Morgan’s project, rural communities have a new method
of generating energy, one that is free of the social costs that come with burning
firewood. Her work has improved the everyday lives of countless individuals, especially
women, while also contributing to global efforts to preserve the environment
and its resources.
Next Steps:
Morgan will study agriculture at the University of Arizona,
where she will continue to lead the way in exploring viable alternative energy
sources! Girl Scouts will honor Morgan and her fellow National Young Women of
Distinction on Sunday, October 19 at our 2014 Girl Scout Convention.