Friday, March 22 is world water day . Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in seven of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence combined, including war. Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school. Additionally, collecting water puts them at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault. Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old. Finally, someone dies every 15 seconds due to water related illnesses. Taken From Charity Water
In Richard Stearns book, “The Hole In Our Gospel”, he tells a story of his wife and an experiment she did the day before teaching on water issues. What she did was to abstain from water for the whole day. She didn’t drink it, didn’t wash with it and didn’t use it in any way. This is exactly what we are asking from you, and of us.
This Friday we remember those who do not have water. How are we going to do this? Well, we are going to go through the day not using water. Here is the “Justice Challenge”:
1. On March 22, go without water.
2. Don’t use water at all, not for washing, brushing teeth, flushing the toilet, taking vitamins or drinking.
3. If you do need to drink do so, but only water, not juice or pop. Don’t use water for anything else until you wake up the following morning.
4. At the end of the day go on to the Steps of Justice website and donate any amount towards Rock Foundation and their work of getting water filtration systems into the homes of the poorest of the poor in Cambodia. All gifts are tax deductible and 100% goes to Rock Foundation.
The reason we are doing this is not so that we can see a tiny bit of what it is like to go without water. The reason for this time is to stand with those who have no water, put ourselves in their shoes and in doing so pray with and for them. Mostly though, I hope this action causes us to act on their behalf.
At any point during the day please stop by the Steps Of Justice Facebook group and post what God has been doing as you participate in this unusual action day. Lets encourage and be encouraged by each other.
Photo by Johnny Koster
