THIRST charity: water
A few years ago I was handed a rather thick book from my friend, Karyl Morin. The book cover had an image of a large yellow water jug pouring out clear water. This book titled Thirst, written by Scott Harris, sparked my curiosity. Karyl was doing some purging and for some reason thought of me when she got to this book. I happened to be looking for a good read so I tossed it in my bag as we headed out the door for our annual spring break vacation.
I started the book on the beach while sitting under a large umbrella overlooking lots of water. From the moment I began reading Thirst I couldn’t put it down... which was a problem given the size of the book and the shortness of our vacation. Scott’s story is a page turner and I easily finished it before we headed home.
While entirely different and certainly more dramatic than my own story, there were lots of parallels: a rebellious youth, turning away from God for a season, and being woken up to God during extreme circumstances - all of this sparked a new call in Scott’s life.
For those of you who haven’t read Thirst, it is a riveting account of one man’s story of redemption and awakening to purpose. I don’t intend to write a book report, but I do want to give you a 4 R synopsis of Scott’s story:
Responsibility - Scott tells how he was thrust into adulthood in his youth due to his mom’s poor health. Scott was not even able to process it really - as an only child, he just jumped in and did all the things that moms typically do and then some. This was admirable.
Rebellion - As is often the case, we go through a season of pushing back, rebelling, and testing. For Scott, this season after leaving home was extreme. What started off being a band member in a group, grew into a move to New York City and culminated into being a nightclub promoter for a decade with night after night of drugs, booze, and models.
Return - After ten years of promoting clubs, Scott finally hit rock bottom and asked himself, “What would the exact opposite of my life look like?” He started to return to the God of his youth which led him to volunteering on a hospital ship in West Africa for sixteen months.
Resolute Call - His experience on the ship opened his eyes to the largest health problem in our world today - dirty water. After he learned the magnitude of this issue, (today 785 million on the globe live without access to clean water) the staggering health issues, and the associated death rates, Scott went to work. He applied all that he had learned as a promoter of drugs, booze, and models to the promotion of clean water for those in desperate need. He founded charity: water, and charity: water was not just another non-profit - Scott’s approach was unique and groundbreaking (pardon the pun).
I came away inspired by Scott’s story... few stories are as dramatic as his and few would be as bold or take the kinds of risks he has taken to engage an army of people to focus on clean water. The statistics on the global crisis are shocking. A cursory visit to the charity: water site reveals much. My team has gotten involved through The Spring - where IDA Design contributes $30 each month for each employee as part of their benefit package. They love knowing that just being an employee is helping solve the water crisis.
I also love how focused charity: water is on just water! Too often organizations take on too much and get outside their lane. While charity: water has a singular focus on water - they have a broad focus on all the places in the world that need clean water. In these regions, clean water changes everything.
charity: water is currently doing a special focus on Mali, where they have a clean water goal for 20,000 people. Here’s what they are saying about Mali...
In one of the harshest places on Earth.
In one of the hardest years in history.
In the West African country of Mali, the threat of COVID-19, a recently-destabilized government, and an escalating climate crisis have made the need for clean water more urgent than ever. Together, we can transform the future for families who’ve endured life without clean water for too long.
For women and girls in rural Mali, collecting dirty water is tedious, time consuming, and physically demanding.
“We’ve heard some poignant stories: Entire villages having disappeared. We’ve seen people go blind digging wells. People have died going out in search of water. It’s been very difficult for women.” - FATOU BINTOU GARIKO
“You use all your strength to pull water from the well. Our hands are hard like stone from that rope.”
Stories like these are plentiful in the regions where charity: water is bringing relief - clean water for millions in the world is not! Won’t you consider assisting them in bringing an end to this world-wide crisis in our lifetime? charitywater.org
