Walk for Water

Charleston has tons of nonprofit organizations and charities....which means there is always a "cause" to walk or run for. I remember going to "Walk for Life" marches with mom when I was little, but I've never really had much interest in doing them since then.

This Saturday, a few friends and I did decide to participate in the Walk for Water to benefite the mission of WATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL. I've met a couple people who work for them and several volunteers and I'm impressed...not only with their organization...but with the simple yet huge needs that exist!

•  One out of every eight people in the world, roughly 884 million, lacks access to safe water. (WHO/UNICEF)
• At least 2.6 billion people, about 41 percent of the global population, do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. (UN WATER)
• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day, one every 20 seconds. (UNDP)

I know there are tons of needs and "causes" out there, but this still amazes me! And to think how often I let the water run while I brush my teeth. And for all you cynics, yes, I realize that water I wasted would not be given to thirsty children had I saved it...but that's not the point! In today's world, we are not that separated from the poor. We can get anywhere in the world in less than a day! We have more than we need of EVERYTHING and we take it all for granted! How can we be okay with the above stats? There are so many needs it can become overwhelming, but we shouldn't let that stop us from starting somewhere, right?

So, Saturday, we walked 3.5 miles around downtown Charleston carrying big water buckets....and halfway through the walk, we filled them with the unsanitized water that most of the world drinks (and we sometimes refuse non-brita water?!) and had to carry it back the other half of the walk. It was pretty cool. Not that thiis answered the world's thirst problems, but it was a step in the right direction....haha...no pun!

Check out Water Misson's Website - they're awesome! http://www.watermissions.org/statistics-and-links

"but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:14