Living Water International

The most recent addition to the charities which I support is Living Water International. This is a Christian organization which is devoted to helping repair and drill water pumps in third world villages. I knew there were certain forces at work in the universe when I first heard about them. See, on the day the idea of running across the country popped into my head, this guy named Abe Clark was set to finish his journey across the United States. I knew he was going to finish the next day because when the idea popped into my head I immediately went home and researched “running across America”. His name showed up on the search engine. The coincidental timing of it was certainly mysterious. It was almost as if I were destined to continue on. Several months have passed but his accomplishment has stayed with me. I’ve actually become addicted to reading his blog and the blogs of others that have completed the journey. Through their notes I am offered a tiny glimpse of what I can expect. I’ve reached out to several of the people who have completed the trek. Some have answered me while others have been unreachable.
My goal for this charity is $50,000. This sum is equal to ten hand pumps. Each hand pump will affect hundreds of people in need of clean drinking water. Now clearly my Foundation’s focus is literacy but, how can students expect to learn if they must spend all day walking to get to dirty drinking water? Some of these villagers must walk seven miles to reach a run down dirty well. Here in the states I can turn on the tap water and refresh myself. I even have the choice of hot or cold. We don’t consider it a luxury. We really don’t know how lucky we are. We should cherish this wonderful gift. Water is the source of all life.
So how does the run tie into this? It’s pretty simple. We run marathons and play sports for fun. How thirsty do we feel after a long hard sweat. How awesome does water taste at that moment? Now imagine not being able to quench that thirst. This is how some people feel every day. I sure do hope there are people out there that want to help me help others.