Water Wheel – Two wells!

About the Campaign

Update: January 28th, 2015! That is overwhelming! I woke up this morning, and we were 60% of the way. A couple of donations jump-started the afternoon, and you all brought it over the finish line in about an hour!! Just think of how many lives will be permanently changed by this! I kicked off this campaign December 3rd, in conjunction with my aspiration to participate in the 2015 Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race. This is a race my friend Bud Hasert and I have been pining to complete for some time (I’d say >15 years, if I had to guess). We both completed qualifying races in qualifying times in 2014, but I did not get awarded a spot (it’s still a lottery). Fortunately, Leadville Race Series offers the opportunity to gain access through a fundraising effort.

Thanks to your generosity, we blasted past $1,000 easily in a week. My entry to Leadville is final and secure, and that piece is in the rear view mirror.

Clean, secure water is an urgent and overwhelming issue across Africa. $5000 funds an entire well. WE FUNDED AN ENTIRE WELL! That seemed like a lofty goal, for sure, … far more than Leadville asked me to commit to in order to race next August. Now that we’re there, the problem isn’t solved for untold numbers of people. Every extra dollar will help!

So, that was our goal for this campaign, and it has been accomplished! I love that our cumulative efforts will be responsible for hopefully generations of clean, accessible water for a village in desperate need. Clean water solves or mitigates scores of issues for communities, with a positive impact on health to everyone from the unborn child to the village elder. Economic well-being is unlocked as families don’t spend vast amounts of time lugging gas cans to the nearest water hole to bring back fetid water to last them a day or two. Local gardens can flourish, and each human’s personal resources can be redirected to the growth of their family and the community.

According to Water To Thrive’s (and others’) research, each $1 invested in water can return up to $8 in positive economic impact. How’s THAT for a return on investment?

If you are not financially able right now, please keep them in your mind (I may gently goad you through June 1st anyway). If you find yourself in a position to give, please consider a recurring donation to this organization. If everybody I know well enough to help out could chip in just $10, this would be an easy win for everybody involved, but particularly for the people who will have their lives transformed by a freshwater well.

It’s just such a worthy goal.