Missions

One Thing Makes Us Different

by Jana Kelley 
09/13/12
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You don’t know me, but we are more alike than you think. I am a son or a daughter, just like you. I am a mother or a father. I have a sister and a brother. I dream of a better future for my children. I laugh and I cry. Just like you. If you take the time to reach out, you can touch my hand and feel my warm skin. We are the same. But there is something that makes us different, you and I. There is something that is as big as life and death. If we are sad, our hearts will ache. If we are cut, our skin will bleed. But if we are thirsty, my friend, you will reach for a cup and fill it with cool, refreshing water and I will just be thirsty. If we are dirty, you will run your hands, your face, your body under a warm shower and I will just be dirty. You see, my family has no access to clean water. Do not think that I am unusual; there are 1.2 billion people just like me. When you feel the strain of a drought in your country, you water your lawn only once a week. When I feel the strain of a drought, I grieve over a family member who dies from the lack of clean water. This common, you understand. Every 22 seconds a child dies from a preventable water-related disease. Dear Friend, do not throw your hands up in despair. The problem is real, but the solution is possible. For $600-$2,000 a low cost well can be dug for my village. When you reach to turn on your water faucet, please consider reaching out to touch me. Feel my warm skin, close your eyes and see my smile. Hear my laugh. With the help of people like you, people like me can reach for a drink when we are thirsty! I dream of a life without the needless diseases, a life where my children don’t have to cry for the most basic need: water. Will you join the people at water4 to reach out and hold my hand and dream with me?