We had the good fortune a little over two years ago to purchase our first home. One of the fears that plague many first-time buyers is addition of several bills that are normally paid for when living in an apartment. One of those big fears for us, in Southern California, was water. Water is a big expense here and just keeping a lawn green during the summer months (which are about 9 months out of the year in our area) can really add up. Not to mention showers. And a dishwasher. Suddenly living in an apartment where water and trash was included in the rent seemed like a better option.
Today I want to talk about water. And not distilled water for hair usage, or how to keep a hairstyle fresh after swimming in it, but something far bigger, and much more important. Today I'm donating my post to the world water crisis and asking that you join me in an effort to bring safe drinking water to the 884 million people who currently lack access to clean water.
The Campaign
Today
water.org is launching a
10 Day Challenge campaign. The goal of which is to raise $2500, which is enough to bring clean water to 100 people
for life.
That seems like a totally reasonable goal. It's crazy to think that just $25 can bring a
lifetime of clean water to a person. Yes, you read that correctly: One $25 donation = an entire person's clean water supply for their entire life. Not $25 per month. Not $25 per year. All I have to do is look at my water bill to know how amazing that really is.
How does
water.org do this? Well, I can tell you the approach is
not just buying a bunch of fresh water and giving it to people. It has to do with (as the Chinese proverb says) "teaching a man to fish." They build wells. They drill, they work with communities, they facilitate and encourage stuff happening on the ground locally. They've got a ton of
really great solutions, working with local partners and ensuring community ownership of projects. Love. It.
The Women
Goodness, this really bothers me a lot, but could you imagine (assuming you're a woman) going through your monthly cycle and not having a place to take care of business? No? Neither can I! And yet,
only 1 in 3 women in the world have access to a private toilet. I cannot even imagine my daughter being in the other two-thirds of the women in the world. That just breaks my heart. Please read more about
what the women are going through. This is just so wrong and my heart just breaks.
What You Can Do
Please join me. And when I say join me, I mean
really, I'm donating money to this worthy cause.
You can too by clicking here. BUT, that's not the only way, so please don't get freaked out. You can blog. Spread the word. Tweet. Facebook. Just help get the word out (and be sure to use this hashtag when doing so: #10Days10LivesTML). Monetary donations are appreciated, but there are also many other ways to get involved. As much as you are moved to do so I urge you to take a stand on something so basic as water. Thanks in advance.
Posted in: donations
Thursday, September 06, 2012
