(KAIR)--Students at St. Benedict's Catholic School have been hard at work for the past forty days, collecting coins in an effort to help provide clean water to those in need.

Principal Diane Liebsch says the students were inspired to start the project after a visit on Ash Wednesday from Sister Barbara Smith who is with the Water With Blessings organization. Water With Blessings helps train women in developing countries take water filters, and  learn how to use them properly before taking them back to their villages.

Liebsch says that the students were touched by the idea of saving coins during lent. The result of their effort was seen Thursday, when the coins were brought to the school for collection. She says “students came forward and dumped their coins into a bucket with Sister Barbara Smith present, and just about overflowed the very large bucket. So, we are very touched by their generosity. They have done good deeds to earn their coins.”

Liebsch says that she thinks the children learned a valuable lesson from the collection. “They understand the need for clean drinking water. They understand that we are blessed here with what we have available as far as our clean drinking water, clean homes, homes with roofs, and homes with walls. They saw many pictures of families in developing countries who don't have the things that we take very much for granted here in our school and our community and our homes.”

Liebsch says the students were able to raise nearly $1,500, enough to purchase thirty water filters.