It was a perfect day for a walk... made even better because these folks were walking with a purpose! Fifty-five men, women and kids carried jugs of water around a lake to experience and demonstrate what daily life is like for many Ethiopian women and children.
A daily trek to get water and bring it back to their homes is an essential part of life for millions who have no running water. The people hauling water found out it is not an easy job... water is heavy! A new appreciation for our African neighbors was birthed, that is for sure.
Shannon Cline organized the walk to raise money to buy water filters that she and her team of women will take to Ethiopia at the end of the month.
Shannon said it was surreal at one point in the day to see a large crowd of people come around a corner carrying a variety of water containers, big and small.
Many people simply out for a morning stroll stopped to ask what the group was doing and participants took the opportunity to explain that even the youngest children on the walk would have been expected to fetch full jugs of water in Ethiopia and, in some cases, walk with those jugs for miles.
Many times the water is gathered from the ground or a stream and causes Giardia, typhoid, cholera and many other intestinal problems. The water filters won’t solve the water supply problem but they will filter out parasites and disease, keeping households from contracting these sometimes deadly illnesses.
Homemade medals were awarded to everyone who participated! Shannon hopes to make this an annual event.
You can purchase these life-saving water filters through our YWAM Gift Catalog here!
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