Kara Patrovic to Be Honored at Lions Taste of Long Island Event

Kara Patrovic, a 17-year-old senior from Miller Place High School, will be the honoree at the annual Lions Taste of Long Island Event at the Inn and Spa at East Wind on Wednesday, April 22.

The event features offerings donated and served by over 20 restaurants, wineries, and musicians. The Rocky Point Lions Club chose to honor Kara at this annual event because of the outstanding work she is performing running her non-profit Kara2Mijael, which provides solutions to the global water crisis.

Patrovic has sponsored a little boy named Mijael since he was born and she was 9 years old. Mijael lives in an impoverished village in Tarija, Bolivia and Kara sponsors him through ChildFund International. In 2012, Patrovic, then 14, created a charity organization called Kara2Mijael and began aggressively fundraising so that she could visit Mijael and provide aid to his community. She surpassed her fundraising goal and was able to help Mijael and 55 additional children in his community. While in Tarija, she was brought to the Barrio 27 de Mayo village. There, the village elders pleaded with her to help them secure a source of clean water. Patrovic recalled what they said: ”Agua es vida”, meaning “Water is life.”

Patrovic responded to that call and expanded her charity with the “Agua es Vida” project. She created a website http://www.kara2mijael.org, where she chronicles all the operations of her non-profit, including communicating fundraisers, posting pictures and, most importantly to her, raising awareness of the global water crisis. She partnered with ChildFund International to manage the finances and logistics of the project. During 2014, she held 13 separate fundraising events and raised more than $30,000, enough to build a well system for the barrio and 2 neighboring barrios. The well system is providing clean water to 750 people immediately and many more as the barrios expand. In November of 2014, Patrovic returned to Bolivia and was greeted by the grateful residents and government leaders, who held many events in her honor.

Patrovic has decided that this is her life’s passion. She relayed her passion, “There are 800 Million people in the world without access to any water and 2.3 Billion people without access to clean water sanitation. Providing clean water to the people that need it changes everything for them and can provide the opportunity they need to pull themselves out of the cycle of poverty and dependency that they find themselves in.” She has expanded her charity to provide clean water to other areas of the world and she intends to continue her fundraising. She is currently partnered with other international aid organizations and has raised enough money to provide a well to a needy area in India, where 3,000 people will benefit. She plans on additional projects in Bolivia, India, and areas of Africa.

Patrovic will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall where she will major in Global Studies and Public Health and will be working with the UNC Water Institute, a world-renowned organization researching water access solutions globally.

Kara2Mijael has been highlighted on CBS2 News, Huffington Post, and Newsday. Patrovic is a TBR Newspaper Group Person of the Year, and is the subject of an upcoming cable TV show, “Looking to Make a Difference”.

The Rocky Point Lions Club has served the communities of Rocky Point, Miller Place, Sound Beach, Mount Sinai, Shoreham and Wading River since 1955 through its many community events. All proceeds from this event will be shared between the Rocky Point Lions Club and Kara2Mijael. For more information on sponsorship of this event and tickets, please contact Lion Bill Johnson at 516-297-5500.