The Life-Changing Power of Clean Water

Did you know that over 700 million people in the world don’t have access to clean water?

Think about that for a minute. Nearly one in ten people doesn’t have access to the most important resource on the planet.

– When’s the last time you worried that water wouldn’t come out of the faucet when you turned the knob?

– When’s the last time you dipped your water bottle into a stagnant, waste-filled pond to quench your thirst?

– When’s the last time you were truly grateful for good, clean, accessible water?

Until reading Thirst, by Scott Harrison, I can’t remember the last time I gave it much thought. Now, I can’t stop thinking about it.

Thirst is the inspiring story of a man whose goal is to bring clean water to the world. In the 1990’s Scott Harrison was at the top of the New York Club scene, living life in a haze of drugs and alcohol. He began to experience physical numbness that led to a battery of medical tests that turned up nothing. Despite having the world at his fingertips, Scott felt emotionally numb and hopeless.

Desperate for change after ten years of partying, Scott set out for a year on the Mercy Ship, which provided medical services in third-world countries for those that didn’t have access. As he traveled through these countries, and witnessed the devastating effects of poverty, he was particularly affected by the lack of access to clean water.

Charity:Water was born. Since 2006 the charity has brought clean water to over 18 million people with 154,000 projects funded.

Amazing.

According to the Charity:Water website:

• Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
• Every day, women and girls around the world spend an estimated 200 million hours collecting water.
• Clean water helps keep kids in school. Especially girls.
• Women and girls are responsible for water collection in 8 out of 10 households with water off premises.
• $1 invested in joint water supply and sanitation provides a $4.30 economic return.

Can you even imagine having water insecurity? At times It seems like our most pressing water concern is buying the next greatest bottle to keep our water colder for longer, and do it more fashionably.

I invite you to watch the following video. It brought me to tears.

I invite you to check out the Charity:Water website to learn the stories of individuals whose lives were changed by access to clean water.

I invite you to read the book Thirst. I loved it for so many reasons.

• It’s a story of redemption.
• It’s a story of passion.
• It’s a story of purpose.
• It’s a story of finding one’s life calling and stopping at nothing to make it happen.
• It’s a story of changing lives.
• It’s a story of compassion for those truly marginalized.

I hope you will take a few minutes to recognize how truly lucky you are to live in such abundance. And I hope you’ll identify a charity that is changing lives and donate generously. Hill and I have decided to support a water project with Charity:Water. We’ll let you know how it goes!!

Happy Reading

Nate