Deerfield Grads to Race Across India

Deerfield High School grads Jason Bell-Masterson and Clint Hammerberg will participate in the "Iditarod to India" April 7-19, traveling 3,000 to 4,000 KM across India in an auto-rickshaw race.

Bell-Masterson has spent the past two and a half years working in Hyderabad, India as a litigation manager for QuisLex, while Hammberberg, who holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, has been working in Colorado at a ski lift for the past year.

Bell-Masterson, who graduated DHS in 2001, and Hammerberg, a 2000 graduate, comprise one of 74 teams who will attempt to drive auto-rickshaws from Cochin to Shillong to raise funds for Frank Water, an organization which provides access to clean drinking water to villages in India.

So far, they have set up 82 villages in India with facilities and training to provide them with clean water for at least the next 20 years.Their goal is to raise at least $2,280, and every donation, no matter how small, will help put them one step closer.

Help Masterson and Hammerberg reach their goal by making a donation through the green "donate button" on their team page at www.theadventurists.com/the-two-man-disaster. (Note: For some reason the site is not iPad friendly).

The table below outlines the cost in U.S. dollars of services provided by Frank Water across India.

• Water committee training: $38
• Awareness campaign for a village: $68.40
• UV kit: $136.80
• Sand and carbon filters with valves: $296.40
• A 2000-litre steel water tank: $1,368
• A complete project to bring clean water to an entire village: $7,600

For those who would like to track the progress of all the teams, the organizers have put together a map that will go live once the run starts and will show you where each team is on their run at www.theadventurists.com/the-adventures/rickshaw-run/edition/april-2013.

Bell-Masterson and Hammerberg be posting pictures and updates as they go, assuming they can find Internet access in the hinterland of India. Check up on them at: http://rickshawrun2013b.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=the-two-man-disaster&page=blog