charity: water

            Quick, think of the last thing that you spent twenty dollars on.  Did you know that twenty dollars could have been used to provide clean water to an individual in a developing country?  I am absolutely terrible with using my money wisely and I am certainly not here to guilt trip anyone into donating to this cause.  My only goal in writing this post is to give these people a voice.  I complain every time my shoe comes untied, I can’t even begin to comprehend not having clean water to drink every day.  It’s easy to forget about those that are less fortunate, especially when our lives are as hectic as they are.  When everyone is so concentrated on when and what they have to do next, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.  The reality of it is, people are walking hours to collect unsanitary water from a stream or pond, then walking hours back.  The thought of my own mother carrying a jerry can full of water a few miles is terrible, and I don’t feel like anyone else’s mother should have to go through it either.

            Close to a billion people don’t have access to clean water.  Without clean water, these people have no way of growing food, washing food, or cooking food safely.  By raising money for charity: water, we can put wells in these communities.  Women and children will spend less time walking to get water, allowing them to spend their time and resources elsewhere.  Using this clean water, communities can build irrigation systems and begin to build farms and from these farms, processing facilities will emerge.  So, in other words, building wells in these deprived regions is the only way to improve these underdeveloped countries.  I respect the fact that some communities want to remain the same and continue to live and represent their culture, but I can’t sit around while millions of people get sick from waterborne diseases.  I believe we were all put on this Earth to help one another through difficult times, but we are all starting to lose sight of that.  In the words of Tupac Shakur, “We gotta start makin’ some changes.”

Side note:  My fundraising campaign is no longer active, but I encourage all of you to start your own campaign.  Another option is to donate to a random person’s campaign.  I’m sure it would make their day!