My dad sent me this lovely piece. The timing couldn’t be better as the campus ministry I serve is right in the middle of our massive, annual “H2O Project.”
Read this amazing story of a bartender who is serving beverages of a different kind in far away places.
Every year for the last several, our campus ministry has done what we simply call The H2O Project.
Our hearts are broken by the thought of 1.2 billion people in the world who do not have access to clean drinking water. Disease and poverty tear these lives apart, and the solution is so simple.
We need to get them some clean drinking water.
We challenge our college students to give up all beverages except for water for two weeks. No coffee, soda, juice, tea, milk or energy drinks. We ask them to save the money they would have spent on those drinks and divert those funds to The H2O Project. All of the money we raise goes to build clean water wells in Haiti.
That’s one aspect of our Project. The other aspect is our toilet. Allow me to explain.
For one week, we set a take a (clean) toilet on to campus and set it up right in front of the food court. As students are going in to eat their meals, we sit on our toilet and hold a sign that says, “$1 will give 1 person clean water for 1 year.” And we ask if they can share $1 to make a difference. Almost everyone has an extra buck.
We raise these funds, but we also want to raise awareness on campus. We hand out statistics and stickers with a picture of a toilet on them.
The purpose of the toilet is simple: to draw attention to the fact that everyday we pee in cleaner water than 1.2 billion people in the world drink.
Last year, our group raised over $1,000 from giving up beverages and another $1,000 from sitting on the toilet. This year, we hope to raise $3,000.
Please pray for all of our students involved in the Project and for the hearts of other students to be moved with compassion for those who are going without water.
The more who join us in the Project, the more impact we make. If you will give up your beverages for the next 2 weeks, and divert the funds to the Project, leave a comment so we know who you are and can pray for you. You can send your funds via online donation or by mail to:
CCH
PO Box 352
Maryville, MO 64468
(Please indicate H2O Project in the memo line.)
You can donate online by clicking this link.
See our Facebook event page here.
A few days ago I mentioned our H2O Project and the several different ways the students involved in our campus ministry are helping to make clean water a reality for people in Haiti.
So far, lots of people (students, parents, friends of parents, and complete strangers) have sacrificed all non-water beverages. They are using the money they would have spent on coffee, tea, juice, milk, and other drinks and re-diverting those funds towards the H2O Project. So cool.
Tomorrow, we are going to start hanging out on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University to raise awareness and funds. For 12 hours per day, Monday through Friday, we have (at least) 2 students hanging out at the entrance of the main food court on campus.
And get this: they will be sitting on toilets.
The purpose of the toilet is really to attract attention and begin discussions. We hope people walk by, see us sitting on a toilet, and ask us, “Why are you sitting on a toilet?” We would then say, “Glad you asked. Did you know that 1.1 billion people in the world don’t have clean water to drink? We are willing to bet that you’ve gone to the bathroom today…and while we don’t want you to feel guilty for having clean water, we do want you to be aware that you go to the bathroom in cleaner water than many people in the world have to drink.”
And then we will share with them some information and ask if they can spare $1. That’s all we are asking for. $1 will give 1 person clean water for 1 year. And we figure everyone has an extra $1.
And then, we have 1,000 stickers that we made with the above toilet picture on it…and we will share with those who have shared their $1 with the less fortunate.
We are excited. Please pray for us and stay tuned for details.
(If you are on Facebook and want to stay in the loop, click and join here. If you would like to partner with us financially, you can give here.)
There is something of a clean water crisis in our world today. 1.1 billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water. A preventable water-borne illness kills one child every 15 seconds. That’s nearly 10,000 every day. A total of 25,000 people lose their lives to these illnesses daily. Many women and children have to walk 2 hours EACH WAY to get access to water…and oftentimes they do it multiple times per day. This prevents them from going to school or holding down jobs. Many AIDS related deaths are from diseases contracted from drinking dirty water.
And here in the States, we have clean water to drink. And shower in. And flush down the toilets.
The ministry I lead, Christian Campus House, is getting ready to embark upon the H2O Project.
The Project.
Starting on Wednesday, Nov. 5th, we are going to stop drinking coffee, soda, tea, milk, juice and all other beverages. The only liquid we will drink will be clean water. And all of the money that we would have spent on those other beverages we will collect and send to Haiti, where we finance the building of clean water wells in needy villages.
If you think about it, you aren’t giving any extra money. You are simply re-directing funds you would have spent on other drinks.
Giving.
If you join us in The Project, I’d love to hear from you. When you finished, you could donate your re-directed funds securely online by clicking here. Or, if you would like to mail the funds, please make your check payable to CCH and send it to: PO Box 352, Maryville, MO 64468.
Facebook.
If you are on Facebook, add me as a friend by clicking here. When you add me, include a message saying that you want to be a part of our H2O efforts on Facebook. We’ve got some amazing things happening there…including a campaign to change our profile pictures to toilets! You can see the event page here.
That’s enough for now. Sorry this post is scattered…I’ve thrown it together in a hurry. Let me know if you have any questions, thoughts or comments. Stay tuned as I will keep you, my faithful readers, updated on our progress.
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