As she reached the village well, Tammy turned and faced the large crowd before her. A hush came over the multitude of spectators as she began to share the story of the well beside her .  .  . the story of Joshua’s well.

Joshua, Tammy’s son, passed away when he was 18 years old. As any mother would be, Tammy was devastated over the loss of her son. She desperately wanted to make a lasting tribute in memory of Josh, but she wasn’t sure what to do.

 

About two years after Josh’s death, his paternal grandparents, Dick and Kay Hall, went on a trip to Guatemala. They were in disbelief when they saw the effect that dirty water was having on so many Guatemalan villages. They knew that lives could be saved, and communities could flourish if only they could be given access to a clean, safe water source.

 

When they returned home, Dick and Kay shared what they had seen with Tammy. Immediately, Tammy knew how she could honor the memory of her son . . . she would donate a well in Josh’s name.

 

Tammy knew her goal would not be reached quickly or easily, but she began the fundraising efforts to provide a deep bore well.

 

 A little while later, several states away, a woman by the name of Theresa received the devastating news that her son had passed away due to combat-related injuries. Theresa’s son had left all of his assets to her with the stipulation that they be used to “help children.” She knew exactly what to do. 

 

Theresa had been following Tammy’s blog and heard about the well she was trying to fund on behalf of her son. She knew she could honor her son’s legacy by helping another mother to do the same. In one phone call, Theresa donated the remaining funds needed for the well. The village community leader donated the land for the well.

Tammy with the community leader

Tears streamed down the cheeks of the villagers as they learned that the well that had saved the lives of so many of their own children had come at the great loss of these two boys. Mothers held their babies closely and whispered words of heartfelt gratitude.

Through death, life was given. Through pain, joy was received. Through devastation, hope was restored.

This is the legacy of Joshua’s well.

Tammy with children from Manzanotal around Joshua's well.

The decision was made to host a golf tournament in Memphis. Jacob met with Walmart’s vendors in his region and challenged them to sponsor the tournament. Excitement grew as all of them pledged their support to help with this great need. The sponsors included Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kimberly Clarke, Del Monte Foods, Nestle Waters, Nestle Food, Pepperidge Farm, Sara Lee, Flowers Foods, Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Anderson Merchandisers, Proctor and Gamble, Frito Lay, Budweiser of Memphis, Kraft Foods, Lewis Brothers Bakeries, Quaker Foods as well as hundreds of enthusiastic Walmart associates from 45 stores in that region of Tennessee. Each store was pivotal in raising awareness and held their own fundraiser to support the cause.

The tournament was a great success, and more than $75,000 dollars was raised to provide clean-water wells to villages where people only had access to contaminated water.

I just returned from Guatemala, along with Jacob, Rodney Ray of Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, and Dennis Tumlin of Coca-Cola Enterprises. We were able to participate in the dedication of two wells that were drilled in very poor villages through the funds provided from the golf tournament.

One of the wells was placed inside a school yard in the village of Piedras Azules, Gulan, where over 200 students now have access to clean water throughout the day. It also supplies safe drinking water to the 1,000 other people living in the village. While we were there, Jacob, Rodney, and Dennis also distributed school supplies and soccer balls as gifts for the children at the school.

Pictured above: Dennis Tulin, Carlos Vargas (our partner from Hope of Life), Rodney Ray, and Jacob Frias with individuals from Piedras Azules, Gulan

The second well was dedicated in the village of La Pedrera, a village of approximately 1,000 people who, prior to the well being installed, had to gather water from a polluted stream.

Pictured above: Jacob Frias, Rodney Ray, and Dennis Tulin with individuals from La Pedrera

While in Guatemala, the Walmart team was able to see the full outreach of causelife’s national partner. They were able to participate in a feeding program at a landfill, play basketball with the children in the orphanage, tour the baby rescue center where severely malnourished children are nursed back to health, and witness firsthand the lives that are changed every day because of the outreach of Hope of Life International, our partner ministry in Guatemala.

In May, there will be two more golf tournaments—one in Memphis and the other in Nashville. It has been an honor for causelife to work with Walmart, their associates, and vendors to provide clean water for thousands of people in Guatemala—and we look forward to what will be accomplished together in the future!

This month, we would like to introduce you to the Dean-Hills! Jake and Jennifer Dean-Hill, and their children Dawson and McKenna, have helped provide two wells through causelife and are hoping to fund one additional well each year. Get to know them a little better through this brief interview:

Left to Right: Dawson, Jake, Jennifer, McKenna

causelife: When did you first learn about the water crisis, and what caused your family to get involved?

 Jake and Jennifer: Back in 2009, our family had the opportunity to hear the Children of the World International Children’s Choir at our church in Richland, Washington. Their theme was all about clean water equaling life, and the choir and video shown that night touched all of our hearts. We had to do something . . . so that night we gave a donation. But we could not get the thought out of our heads that so many around the world did not have access to clean water. It felt so wrong that the water we flush our toilets with every day is cleaner than the water most of the world drinks every day. So that next year, we decided to change our giving priorities and put most of our resources into drilling wells to provide clean water to those in need. With all the crises in the world, we felt this was the most efficient way to use our resources to make a significant impact on numerous humanitarian needs around the world. Our kids joined us in the cause and decided to give their tithes to the well fund also.

causelife: You’ve stated that you want to try to fund one well each year. What motivates you to keep giving?

Jake and Jennifer: What keeps us motivated to keep giving is the thought that every day we turn on the faucet anywhere we are and take for granted the clean, drinkable water that comes out. We want to do what we can to allow others to experience the same. Knowing we are making a difference in the lives of many, inspires us to keep striving toward our goal of drilling as many wells as we can. We know that by providing clean water, we are tackling many humanitarian needs at once: children are able to attend school instead of spending their days fetching dirty water from miles away, while keeping them from being abused and raped during their long journey, preventing various diseases that come from unclean water, and improving their entire quality of life. It also has the potential to help neighboring villages who are in need of clean water too.

causelife: It seems that this is a family affair. How do your kids feel about being involved in a project like this?

Dawson: I feel excited and overjoyed about being involved in such an impacting and life-saving motion. What motivates me is the fact that I can do more, and each time we provide a well, tons of people are helped. The fact that we are causing life really keeps me going.

McKenna: I feel so privileged to give what little resources I have to help kids like me be able to get clean water with just a push of a handle. What a blessing it has been in my life alone to see what I have had the privilege to be a part of. I don’t know what is more of a blessing—knowing I’ve provided clean water for others or that it has changed my life as well. It’s so wonderful knowing that when I lay my head down at night, I’ve made a difference in our world today at only 14 years old. What does the future hold?

McKenna and Dawson

causelife: What are some things that you and your family are doing to fundraise?

Jake and Jennifer: Some of the ways we raise funds to provide wells is through our family taking a significant portion of our tithe and placing the funds in a designated bank account until we have enough to pay for another well. We also have an “H2O” jar that we all place our spare change into throughout the year and then add it to the other funds in the bank. We have committed to continue to increase our giving as God richly blesses us.

We are also beginning to work on multiplying our efforts by getting the word out about causelife and inviting family and friends to join us in the cause. We decided to start a campaign this year called the “Choose Water Challenge.” Through our personalized mycause page, we are inviting family and friends to give up beverages they would normally purchase and choose to drink water instead for one week. Then we ask them to give what they would have spent on pop, alcohol, coffee, etc., to causelife to provide clean water to those in need. So, as people choose to join us, they are not only choosing water to drink and giving what they would have spent on another beverage to the cause, they are also choosing to give clean water to the poorest in the world.

We are also increasing awareness by wearing our shirts and bracelets and using our causelife water bottles. Another thing we are going to do is print up business cards with our mycause webpage address on them so we can easily hand them out to get others involved.

causelife: If there is one thing you could share with our readers, what would it be?

Jake and Jennifer: We want to encourage others to give. We are experiencing such a blessing as we give clean water and we want others to experience the same. How could it not feel good to know that your efforts are saving lives? This is leaving a legacy, and it’s teaching our children the importance of having a world view and a heart for the hurting. It leaves a legacy in our country and in the lives of those we help. We are not only leaving a footprint in the U.S. but also a footprint in a dry and weary land . . . a wet print at that.

If you would like to donate to the Dean-Hill’s well fund, please visit their website: my.causelife.org/deanhills. Let’s work together to bring clean water to the world!

Now, we are pleased to announce the launch of our official mycause platform . . . and we want you to join us! Maybe you’re giving up your birthday, accepting donations in lieu of wedding gifts, or funding a well as a group– be as creative as you want with your clean water cause! We can’t wait to see what ideas you come up with!

It only takes about five minutes to create a page, so be sure to check out the mycause platform, and get started with your fundraiser today!

                             Together we can make help create more moments like this one.

One word describes the Dominican Republic: breathtaking. I listen to the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs only footsteps across the highway, admire the tall palm trees lining the road, and glance at a cloudy, yet beautiful sky. The perfect weather was only a bonus to the breathtaking sights. Soon, however, the striking palm trees begin to become sparser, the classical buildings turn into shacks, and the road becomes more like a bumpy roller coaster instead of a pleasurable ride.

Although the Dominican Republic and Haiti make up the same island, they each represent entirely separate worlds. The dirtiness of Haiti makes me feel as if I am living in luxury when I enter those dreaded bathrooms at truck stops in the United States. Masses of people are working, walking, and carrying items twice their weight as they stare at the crazy white Americans driving by. Haiti is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Yelling, screaming, and sadness surround me. I have never felt so much hopelessness in one place.

Children run around the villages with no clothes on their bare skin and no parents watching over them. Slave children haul water to their owners. And when I say haul, I mean it. Buckets upon buckets of water being pulled and pushed on a broken cart by three small boys under the age of 10. The village is anything but sanitary. The people are anything but kind. The towns are anything but safe.

Children hauling water to their owner

How blessed I am . . . Thank you God for what you have given me!

However, everything seems to transform once we arrive at Danita’s Children in Quanaminthe, Haiti. It feels as if a safety net has been cast around us. Sweet children surround me from all sides in their brightly colored school uniforms. They are laughing, dancing, playing soccer and, of course, catching up on what’s happening with so and so over there. A completely different world from what I had just experienced. The children here have hope, something I had not seen on the open streets of the town.

As God would have it, I met a little boy who would change my life forever, Alexon. This sweet, beautiful boy was only 7 years old, and he was dying of malnutrition. As I held him, I experienced something I had never fully understood before. I could feel the pain of this child dying from malnutrition. Every thought in my mind shut down as I felt the bones in his spine jutting out of his frail back. Every part of me cried out for this small boy who had been through more than I will ever go through in my entire life. This boy is the reason I am in Haiti.

Cassie with Alexon

I listen intently to the story of this sweet child, and my heart begins to truly understand the horror of malnutrition. Alexon had been brought to the home only two weeks earlier along with a little girl suffering from the same disease. However, for that precious girl, it was too late. She was taken by the illness in a matter of days—A disease that can easily be prevented by clean water and food. A small, precious gift from God, taken away by something we take for granted every single day. I have access to clean water and something to eat at any time. More than just “something” to eat, I have enough food to feed more than just myself, unlike the people in Haiti who do not even have enough to feed their children.

With the help of clean water, we can make a difference in the Haitians’ lives. We can help other children just like Alexon.

Thousands of children silently die each day around the globe due to malnutrition. No one hears their cries, no one sees their tears, and no one comes to their aid. How would you feel if it was your child dying in your arms, and you could do nothing about it? How would you feel if there was no one to save them, no way to stop their agony and bring them a full and prosperous life? Many have lost their lives to malnutrition, but the battle is not over yet.

Many lives are now being saved and drastically changed by providing clean, safe water through causelife. Wells are being drilled throughout the world in Guatemala, Haiti, India, Africa, and multiple other locations.

Alexon is only one of the many miracle stories of children who are being saved through the gift of clean water, but there are even more children who are in need of our help. Will you join the cause and help save a life?

-Cassie Foster

So, we took a deep breath and dove into our largest Christmas campaign yet, trusting that our supporters would recognize the need and rise to the occasion. And you didn’t disappoint! In just 25 days, causelife raised $30,160, allowing us to impact 6 communities.

As a result of your gifts, thousands of people will not only have access to clean water, but to a brighter future as well. Along with clean water comes health, education, economic opportunities  . . . and hope.

Thanks to your support, the following communities will be transformed by a causelife well:      

1. Guatemala- Santa Cecilia, Estanzuela
2. India- Tarabha, Sonepur, Odisha
3. India- Sadique, Firojpur, Firojpur, Panjab
4. Nepal- Narayanthan
5. Haiti- Turpin
6. Kenya- Magale

William C. Clark, an American ecologist and environmental policy analyst, once said, “If tomorrow morning you could make water clean in the world, you would have done, in one fell swoop, the best thing you could have done for improving human health.”

Thank you for doing “the best thing you could have done” this Christmas.

Changing the Present . . . and Building the Future.

Lauren Compton, Reporter for ABC 13 News, with Hunter Smith

 Thanks for your support, Hunter! We can’t wait to tie up our laces and hit the pavement with you this spring!

]]> http://causelife.org/extra-extra-read-all-about-it/feed/ 1 http://causelife.org/welcome-2012/ http://causelife.org/welcome-2012/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:34:05 +0000 blog team http://causelife.org/?p=2721 2011 was an incredible year for causelife . . . and we are working to make 2012 even better! To celebrate the start of 2012, we wanted to share this letter we got from Emily, a 6-year-old girl who is going to be fundraising for causelife this year.

We love Emily’s resolution to give water! What resolutions have you made to make this year your best yet?

From our family to yours . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The other villagers in Keechai were struggling with similar situations. The entire village suffered from stomach problems and skin disorders as a result of the contaminated water they drank. The sickness led to poverty, which led to more sickness, and a vicious cycle formed. The villagers tried to make a living by farming, but the dirty water prevented them from producing healthy crops.

When it seemed like all hope was lost, a well was brought to Keechai. Parvati’s family and the other villagers slowly returned to good health. The children were able to go to school and receive an education. Poverty was decreased as healthy crops began to grow. Hope was restored and a future was built.

As you can see from the story above, clean water changes everything. It’s December 20, and we are only $5000 away from our goal of raising $25,000 for clean water by Christmas. Please join us as we work to Change the Present . . . and build the future. To get involved, visit our Christmas campaign website. Every dollar makes a difference.