Mar 22, 2011

Running Over

Some of you know that today is World Water Day. Some of you are asking what does that mean? Why is World Water Day any more significant that Cupcake Day or Hug A Stranger Day? Why should you even care?

For you, I have no answer. Maybe you shouldn't care. Maybe you should stop reading right now and go to the sink for your pot of clean water to make coffee and forget that you were reading a woman's words who was discussing water at all.

But for me, I do not have that luxury. My eyes have been opened and I have seen the water crisis and I have held one of its victims in my arms. I could bore you with facts and staggering numbers of humanity that has no clean water source, but if you were to ask me to put a face with a victim of clean water, there is only one:




Each day, a boy that I love, that I call my son and who calls me 'mama', walks from his home to an unclean water source. It 's a disgusting river where not only trash and debris are congealed together to form a murky liquid, but during my time with him, I observed tens of people using it as a public toilet. But for this boy, my son, there is no other water source around. While I am fighting on my knees and with my hands to see his situation changed, I've been advised of new challenges in the war for clean water. And please, I'm not being overly dramatic about this being a war, thousands die every day from water related issues.

Today in India, 1/3 of the wells that have been built in the last twenty years are broken. WHAT? People have access to clean water and the pump is broken? That makes me more mad than having no access to water at all. That's where the Adventure Project comes in. Over 100 bloggers across the globe are donating their blogs today in an attempt to get 10 of their blog readers to donate $20 each to help fix broken wells in India.

The Adventure Project is partnering with a group from WaterAid who trains women to repair wells. I LOVE that! Empowering women and attacking a problem at the same time. Check out the people in this photo. Note that the warrior in the middle, leading this group, is female.



You can go to http://www.theadventureproject.org/ to read about my amazing friends at The Adventure Project and you can go http://www.theadventureproject.org/typetap to make a donation. 10 readers giving $20 would mean $200 raised from YOU today!
So until K has a well in Ethiopia, let's fix the ones that are broken.


There is a verse in Luke that I've always loved. It's a promise of God's blessings on those who follow Him and give of themselves. It goes like this "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38. Last night I read a tweet from one of my favorite social justice heroes, Bob Goff, who is in Uganda right now building a school. "We've been pressed down and shaken together; now its time for us to get to the running over part."
So today, let's get to the running over part!



3 comments:

Jenn B. said...

HI Lindsey,
I clicked on the link to make a donation, but a page came up that said "Oops, this campaign is not ready yet." If there is another place I can go to make a donation, please let me know!
Blessings, Jenn Blake

Unknown said...

Jenn, I think I fixed the link! Thanks!

Matt and Sarah said...

LOVE this project so much! I've been to India and watched the women walk to an old handpump to get water. I'm' so excited you posted about this and that we can be part of it! It was incredible watching the donation thermometer move to the $10,000 mark last night!