Clean Water Climb

Well here goes:

I’ve gotten pretty much every reaction I could possibly imagine when telling people my summer plans but as per usual I’ve ignored the majority of them and decided to go for it anyways … God knows what He’s doing in my life whether I understand it at the moment or not JThank goodness my parents have learned to (eventually) go along with it when I tell them I have yet another crazy plan and my friends are always supportive and encouraging.

I’m joining a team of people (including my sister) climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s called the Clean Water Climb (http://www.cleanwaterclimb.net) and we’re raising money to repair water wells and restore access to clean water for schools and villages in Malawi.

Before I explain why I really feel called to take part in this climb – YES I am still planning on travelling to Uganda with the Embrace Uganda team. I CAN’T WAIT to go back and see everyone there. The climb is taking place after that.

The climb is sponsored by Child Legacy International (http://childlegacy.org) – an organization that serves in several countries in Africa trying to break the cycle of poverty while sharing the Gospel. One of their projects is working to bring clean water to Malawians … Each of us climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro are trying to raise awareness and funds and educate people about the importance of clean water.

It sometimes seems hard to wrap our heads around the fact that there are people around the world suffering from the effects of contaminated water. It’s something we truly truly take for granted without even realizing it. I remember coming home after my 1^st trip to Uganda and the day to day things I personally take for granted really began to stick out and make me think about how blessed I am to live the life I do.

Think about everything you use water for in a day … washing your face, brushing your teeth, showering, water to fill the coffee maker in the morning, doing dishes, washing your hands, flushing the toilet, cooking, drinking, doing laundry, washing the car (aka dad washing my car J ), watering plants, etc, etc, I could keep going. Now imagine being required to walk miles and MILES back and forth carrying jerry cans (I can tell you from experience those suckers are HEAVY) to the closest water source … and chances are it might be contaminated.

FACT: The amount of water used to flush an average American toilet once, is more water than an average person in a developing country uses in an entire day.

One of the biggest reasons I want to take on climbing Kilimanjaro is to hopefully grab people’s attention and get them to stop for a second and understand the enormity of the need for clean water. My intention is to raise awareness, educate and bring people’s attention to something as simple as saving lives by ensuring access to clean water.

Access to clean water not only saves lives by preventing serious water borne illnesses contracted from using/drinking contaminated water, but providing schools and villages with these clean water wells also drastically improves children’s chances of getting an education. Faith Kunihira (director of Bringing Hope to the Family – in Uganda – at one of the orphanages I spent part of my summer) once told me and I’ll always remember it … an education is one of the most important things we can provide for children or orphans in developing countries. It isn’t uncommon for children (particularly girls) not to be allowed to go to school because they have to spend the day walking to and from the nearest water source to collect water for their family. Or they may go to school but are often too exhausted to focus because they’ve been up early before school carrying water.

FACT: 25,000 people die every day due to water borne illnesses.

FACT: There is an increase in school attendance when water is available only a 15 minute walk away rather than more than a half hour away.

In the past I’ve had people ask me WHY I go to Africa or why I’m raising money to “go on vacation” to Africa. To answer the first part of that … the only reason I can tell you is because I’ve felt called to serve in Africa. It’s as simple as that. If someone told me after visiting Uganda for only 2 weeks that I’d come home with a changed heart and forever feel connected there; I wouldn’t have believed it. But there is something that keeps calling me back … the only answer I have for that is God’s plan for my life. As far as going on vacation …think what you’d like. In a sense I guess it is kind of like visiting my extended family. I’ve never felt more welcome and comfortable in a place as I’ve been made to feel when I’m in Africa. I’ve been lucky enough to build some incredible friendships with people there and am really attached to the children I’ve come to know and love.

I am asking EVERYONE to share and educate people about the need for clean water in developing countries. I also ask that if you feel like donating to raise the funds needed to repair wells in Malawi that you would consider donating on mine and Laura’s (my sister) Clean Water Climb donation page.

Go to http://www​.cleanwate​rclimb.net​/meet-the-​climbers-2​013/and click on our names. Our goal is to raise $8000. It costs $1000 to repair 1 well which provides closer proximity to clean water for 500+ people. Wells are repaired and water is purified, villagers are also taught about health and hygiene related to collecting and using water and more importantly we get to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the surrounding villagers at each well repair site.

LOVE yall and hope you’ll continue supporting my wild wild endeavors hahaha. Please be praying for this team as we begin working to raise the money needed to repair these wells and pray that God guides each of us to use the gifts and blessings He has given us to serve Him and the lives of those we encounter both preparing for this trip and on this trip.

Becca