Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about being thankful for clean water? I kind of left the post hanging, knowing there was more to say. Today is World Water Day so I thought I would dig a little deeper into moving from gratitude to action when it comes to clean water.
884 million people lack access to clean water. That’s almost 3 times the U.S. population.
Our house has ten faucets, not including the dishwasher or washing machine.
1.2 billion people don’t have access to a running toilet. This is the leading cause of infection.
We have 2 bathrooms, 2 toilets, and 3 bathroom sinks.
Every day, 200 million hours are consumed by women working to get fresh water to their families.
I just have to turn on the sink.
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
My kids are sleeping safely in their room right now, well hydrated.
I am so thankful for what we have, but when I look at these things side-by-side, suddenly gratitude isn’t enough.
Looking at these facts is completely overwhelming, but like I talked about a couple weeks ago, I am not helpless. I can help someone somewhere. I can give from what I’ve been given. I can make a difference.
Our family sponsors a child named Reymart through Food for the Hungry. He writes us letters and the kids draw him pictures. As we communicate with him, we have great joy in knowing that his basic needs are being provided for. He has clean water, healthy food, medical care, and the opportunity to go to school.
Sponsoring Reymart is our first step in what I hope will be a marathon of turning gratitude into action. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but we are seeking to live with hands wide open. Too many times I find myself clenching my fists, trying to hold on to what I think I deserve. Do you ever catch yourself doing that?
If you are thinking about taking that first step (or second or third, maybe you are way ahead of me!), read on:
Food for the Hungry brought clean water and sanitation to 389,326 people in 586 communities last year, and they have many ways to get involved. They partner with communities to build them up from the inside out fostering self-sustainability, not dependency.
To learn more, checkout the child sponsorship page. You can also get involved with one of their clean water projects.
For every child that is sponsored through my link from now until the end of April, I will donate one order of water purification tablets. That means clean water for an entire family for an entire year.
What are you thankful for this week? Share in the comment section or link up your blog post below!
Wondering what this 365 Thanks project is all about? Click here to learn more.
I will always remember a professor in during my undergrad…instead of telling us to buy textbooks we were to donate $20 to an organization that was building wells in third world countries so villages could have access to clean, safe water. Sometimes I used to hate spending money on textbooks (most of which were barely read), but I didn’t think twice about writing out the check for that class!
That’s awesome Lexie! What a cool idea.