USF football wide receiver uses NIL earnings to bring clean water to Nigeria

By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing

Mudia Reuben grew up hearing his parents' stories of childhood in Nigeria, where survival came before anything else. Their mornings began with long walks, often barefoot, to distant streams to collect water, followed by gathering tree sap after school to help their families earn income.

But the stories only went so far. It was his father's scars that made them real.

"I looked at his legs," said the USF football wide receiver. "His scars from that work were deep."

That reality persists for many in Nigeria, including members of Reuben's family still there.

So, in 2024, Reuben founded the Nigeria Water Project. The nonprofit has drilled wells in six different Nigerian villages, funded through donations and by name, image and likeness income he has earned as a student-athlete.

"A very good portion of my NIL," said Reuben, who's pursuing a master's degree in pharmaceutical nanotechnology with a concentration in biomedical engineering. "I'm playing college football, I'm living good. On the other hand, I have family living on the whole other side of the spectrum. I had to do something."

Reuben said USF has played a key role in making that work possible, giving him the platform to continue football, in which he had 495 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season for the Bulls, and the advanced research that fuels his long-term goals.

He also said USF's student-athlete development programming - including financial and branding education tied to NIL - has helped him make informed decisions about how to use those earnings. Through university-organized symposiums with industry professionals, he's gained insight into financial planning - knowledge he's applied in funding the Nigeria Water Project.

"They've given me the opportunity to further my studies and my football career," said Reuben, who was raised in Kansas City, Missouri, "and the ability to build what I want on the back end."

The wells are known as boreholes, which are narrow shafts drilled deep into the earth, often more than 100 feet, to access clean groundwater from underground aquifers. They are designed to provide a reliable, protected water source, especially in areas where surface water is scarce or unsafe.

The process begins with deep drilling until a water-bearing layer is reached. A casing is inserted, and clean gravel is packed around it in the water zone to naturally filter out sand and silt. The top is then sealed with bentonite clay or cement to prevent contamination from the surface.

A submersible electric pump, powered by a generator, draws water up through steel piping into elevated storage tanks, creating steady pressure. Before reaching taps, the water passes through sediment filters, then flows from multiple access points on a concrete platform -making clean water available to the community.

Each borehole is equipped with three tanks, each holding thousands of liters. The generator-powered systems operate with minimal oversight, ensuring water is available whenever it's needed.

With football and classes keeping him in the U.S., Reuben relies on his parents to travel to Nigeria and oversee the work. His father is a case manager with the Kansas City Department of Corrections and his mother is a nurse.

"I'm blessed enough to have my parents making sure everything goes in order," Reuben said.

Reuben hopes to do more than provide water.

Through his USF studies in pharmaceutical nanotechnology and biomedical engineering, he's working on low-cost treatments and practical tools - such as portable diagnostics and filtration systems, that can be used in communities with limited resources.

"I want to build something here, something big," Reuben said, "and bring it to communities that don't have access to it. I just want to continue to make an impact on the world."