As my mom and I were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner tonight I said:
“I have got to have some water…I’m about to die of thirst.”
I immediately stopped. I couldn’t believe I had said that. My thoughts instantly ventured to Toloha, Tanzania, where my friends are walking 12 to 16 kilometers (~7.5 to 10 miles) to get a bucket of dirty water.
Recently I’ve been thinking more and more about how often I use water – when I wash my face, take a shower, brush my teeth, cook, flush the toilet, wash the car, water the lawn, or need to quench my thirst.
There are so many things I do each and every day that involve water and yet I take it for granted and say things like, “I am about to die of thirst.” A statement that I used to say as a figure of speech but is now something that I can hardly speak without tears welling up in my eyes. The reality is that there are people that really are dying of thirst.
In 2009 in Toloha, Daniel’s father died as a result of the lack of water. How many in Toloha will die this week from the lack of clean water? How many will die this month or this year from water related diseases? This is a problem that I must do something about; this is a problem that can be solved.
Please consider joining us in bringing clean water and hope to a village that is desperately in need of both.
~ Katie ~
Photos by Daniel Makoko