One of the most celebrated symbols of summer is water. There is nothing more anticipated or refreshing than a day at the pool, a weekend with the kids splashing through the sprinkler, or a getaway vacation to a secluded beach. But have you ever thought about what life would be like without all this water? The truth is most of us have never really been thirsty. An ice cold glass of water is usually just a couple steps away. Turn on the tap and out comes clean, safe drinking water. Water is plentiful and we experience its benefits every single day.
But for 800 million people, access to clean, safe water is not so simple. While the average American uses 176 gallons of water everyday during summer months, women and children around the world spend hours every day gathering clean water for their families.
The GO Project, our non-profit partner in Haiti, took a 12 year old orphan to a hotel in Port Au Prince for the very first time. Although the hotel had a swimming pool, by most of our standards it was not one worthy of a summer swim. The boy stopped and stared in amazement at the pool of water and said, “I have never seen a bathtub that large before!” Clearly his experience with water and ours are very different.
We take for granted the basic luxuries we experience. The next time you go to the pool, take a long shower, or turn on your kitchen faucet for a drink of cool water, think about the millions of kids that don’t have that same privilege. To them, water isn’t recreation. Water is opportunity. Water is life.
The really cool thing is we don’t have to settle for this current reality. We can all do something about it. Give the gift of water by starting a fundraising page and have your friends and family support you as you run a marathon, throw a cocktail party or give up your birthday so kids in Cambodia can have clean water or you can simply donate online at neversettle.org. The gift of water is really simple but it changes everything!
Mindy Pittman, Community Manager
Never Settle
