Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Water & Sanitation



Ever since 2001 when I went to Ghana, I have had a heart and passion for Africa. I have to admit, I have not done enough - sometimes anything - to really help or curb the ache in my heart ( that terminology might not be right ).

One of the things that really 'woke' me was seeing with my own eyes, their water and sanitation needs. I saw little children bathing in "ponds" where animals bathed / used restroom and ....

I saw moms going to the same "pond" to wash their clothes. The scene went on an on. Some of the towns / communities were "blessed" that they had a well with clean water. So, folks were happy to walk miles to get some fresh water.

Why do I bring this up ? Because I came across a sobering statistic. Are you ready for a statistic that SHOULD BLOW YOU AWAY ?????

We could give everyone in the world clean water and sanitation for 8.5 BILLION DOLLARS. Now that sounds like quite a bit of money and it is ... in a sense. BUT ... here is the statistic that is MIND-BOGGING .. We, as Americans, spent 9 BILLION DOLLARDS on Black Friday. For those of you who do not know: Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving - where we go out and spend $$ on all the good deals for Christmas.

We could solve alot. I know that numerous people give. I know many people have a heart that just sacrifices over and beyond. But, think about it .. we as Americans could solve a huge world problem ....

Then, of course, we could look at the $$ we have put into the war and we could not only solve water and sanitation but we could have solved .......

Maybe if we were peacemakers, our world would be different.

Thanks Rob for verbalizing what has been turning in my soul and heart and what I have been trying to communicate. Do we really get it ??

2 comments:

Inkling said...

Those are some staggering - and heartbreaking - statistics. My old church is doing something called "Making it right", trying to make a difference in the very situation you wrote about here. Wow. If we gave up just one shopping day and one Christmas holiday full of toys, clothes, and gadgets, our whole world would be changed. What a thought! Thank you for being so bold to share it.

Grace said...

Wow, that's amazing!!