Rising Stars: Meet Sean Kappauf

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Kappauf.

Hi Sean, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
It all started with one child, Bryan, who captured my heart while visiting El Salvador in August of 2013. Spending time with Bryan and his mother, I was saddened to learn about the illnesses, intestinal parasites, and worms that plagued Bryan and many children in the community due to contaminated drinking water. For whatever reason, instead of feeling defeated, I was inspired to figure out a solution.

In February of 2014, I led a team to El Salvador to train local leaders on how to assemble, distribute, and maintain 50 water filtration kits for Bryan and his family, and the rest of the community. The trip was a huge success – the children’s health improved, and the entire community began to thrive. I knew that it couldn’t stop there, so I founded One ATTA Time in 2014, committed to providing water filters to areas in need with a lasting impact.

Everything that we do is done through relationships, the relationships that we build with the communities are paramount. All of our distributions are done by the locals for the local community. Our job is to link together to help make a difference in the lives of those who need clean water.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road is never smooth. When I dream about things I want to do it’s smooth, but when the rubber meets the road it’s never smooth. Which, I like that it’s not. I enjoy the struggles, the problems, and finding creative ways to pivot and continue to move forward. One of the biggest struggles we continue to come across is being able to communicate in a way that changes people’s behavior on how they handle water.

The biggest way we can see them adopt this new way of treating their water (through filtering it) is through our follow-up program. We don’t just give a filter to someone and leave, we continue to follow up and check in on the families to make sure that they are using it appropriately or if they want to keep using it at all.

Almost all the families want to keep using the filters but a lot of times they may forget about how to maintain it appropriately. This is why we continue to check in, plus our local leaders who do all the follow-up, love their country, and their neighbors, and so its a joy for them just to come back and see how everyone is doing.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m the Executive Director of One ATTA Time, I spent a good 15 plus years in the non-profit world, namely working at a church. I guess, I’m known for my public speaking and for leading this non-profit for ten years.

I’m super proud of our organization, our community that we have, the people we are working alongside, and the relationships that come from it. I don’t think anything sets me apart. I just genially like to connect with others and see what makes them come alive.

What do you think about happiness?
My family, and my friends, are a part of a larger community that helps give families clean water, and surfing. Those things give me life.

Pricing:

• $100 provides a family with clean water for ten years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.oneattatime.org
• Instagram: @oneattatime
• Facebook: @oneattatime
• Youtube: @oneattatime5051