The Simplicity of Clean Water...

A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio, when all of a sudden the host began to talk about raising money for a clean water project in a third world country.  Having just returned from a trip to Mozambique, Africa, where a good portion of our time was spent looking at clean water projects, I was immediately intrigued.  The radio DJ began explaining that for just a few dollars a month, you could bring clean drinking water to a village in need.  He then began to "put it into perspective" to his listeners.  "Imagine this for a minute," he said.  "Imagine taking a cup of water, going outside, putting some dirt in the cup and mixing it around, and then, imagine serving that dirty water to your child.  Can you imagine what that would be like."  His co-worker gave her two cents for a few minutes, but their voices became faint as I found myself back in the middle of a remote village in Africa.

I found myself wishing that the only problem with the water available to the people in Africa was the fact that it had a handful of dirt mixed in with it.  If only it were that simple.  For the people of Catumba, a small village in Mozambique, and other villages around the world, the problem is much more complex.  According the World Vision, on average 1600 children under the age of 5 will die every day due to lack of clean water.  This is more than AIDS and malaria combined.  All too often, the only water available contains life threatening bacteria and parasites that place people at risk for disease and even death.  Not only is the lack of clean water an issue, but in many places, the only clean water available can be as far as a 4-6 hour walk one way to fetch a bucket full.  If you do the math, for some women and children, 12 of their 24 hours a day are spent just trying to retrieve enough water for their family to survive on daily.  Education is not an option for these women and children as many of them will spend their entire lives fetching water.

I found myself experiencing this first hand as we walked on a little dirt path in the village of Catumba, women and children walking hand in hand with us, taking us to their old water supply...before World Vision's 30 Hour Famine supplied them with a water bore hole.  The walk was short that day...only about a miles worth.  The sound of African women and children singing at the top of their lungs filled the air, making the journey unforgettable.  I walked hand in hand with Julia and Esperanza, two girls who couldn't be much older than 9 or 10 years of age.  They kept looking up and smiling at me as though we had been friends for life.  The reality of their situation became real to me as we walked up to a dug out hole with dirty water sitting in the base of it.  I watched in those next few minutes as several older women drew water from the hole, filling their bucket, and then placing the bucket on the heads, proceeded to walk the path back.  What I couldn't shake was the fact that this was daily life for so many around our world and survival wasn't always the outcome.  We had only walked a mile of what most women and children in those villages spend all day doing just to retrieve something that we have unlimited access to in our country.  It didn't seem right.  It didn't seem fair.

When we think about the things that take place in our world that aren't fair, we have two choices.  We can settle and believe that "it is what it is and life's not fair," or we can choose to do something.  Katie Davis, one of my favorite modern day missionaries says this, "I am blown away that my God, who could do this all by himself, would choose to let me be a small part of it."  God is inviting us to be a part of bringing change to this crazy, broken and messed up world.  He doesn't have to invite us, but he does.  He offers this unbelievable hope, and we get to partner with him to make sure that people have the opportunity to experience it.  That day in Catumba I saw what happens when hope is birthed in a community.

Our journey didn't stop at that water hole that day.  Because of funds raised through World Vision's efforts, a well had been put into that community and it was literally changing lives.  What we saw that day was a community that had spent far too many days struggling to survive, be given new life through clean water.  Women and children in that community would no longer spend their day collecting water and would now have a greater chance of possibly going to school.  Clean water would cut down on the amount of disease and malnutrition that were claiming lives daily.  We watched that day as men and women from the community worked on fixing parts of the well that had been broken and empowering them in a way that was beautiful.  Because someone had chosen to "do something," hope was changing a whole community and would continue to do so for generations to come.

Maybe the issue of clean water isn't simple, but the solution seems to be.  We need to choose to do something.  Here are a few ideas (mostly from my friends at World Vision and a few from myself)...

1. Donate:  $50 will take care of one person to have clean water for LIFE...yup you heard that right.  Good places to donate are www.worldvision.org and www.charitywater.org.

2. Participate in 30 Hour Famine:  You don't have to be a teenager to do the Famine.  Collect donations, go 30 hours without food, and watch God move in your life.  Not only does it change you, but the money you raise will literally change communities...I saw it firsthand in Africa!

3. Advocate:  Did you know that you can actually contact Congress to let them know that clean water is important and we can do our part by bringing clean water and sanitation to other countries.  Go to this website:  https://www.worldvision.org/our-impact/clean-water and click on "speak out."

4.  Pray:  Grab a waterbottle (reusable), and every time you drink from it, remember to pray for people all around the world who don't have access to clean water.  Pray that God would impress on your heart what you are to do.

5.  Christmas Swap Out:  Christmas is coming which means so are our wish lists.  What would happen if you asked for clean water for someone else this Christmas?

6.  Run:  Did you know that you can sign up for a half-marathon or marathon and actually run for clean water?  Grab a team of people and check out World Vision's website for the details.

Mother Teresa once said, "Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love."  I don't want to be content with the notion that it is what it is.  I want to partner with God and see hope be brought to our world.  I have decided in October 2015, I will be running the Chicago Marathon in efforts to raise money for clean water.  I have no idea how I will accomplish it, but I do know one thing.  I will be training and running for little girls like Julia and Esperanza, who are one well away from a changed life.