Water, Water Everywhere, What Are We Going To Drink?

I love water. Love to drink it, swim in it, cook with it, occasionally fill a water gun with it to shoot my cat when she tries to steal food.  And while I may not shower everyday, I don't know what I would do without water to bathe in.

Water. Water. Water is one of the main reasons we decided NOT to live in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The water pumped into our taps from the city tank isn't really potable. Sure, many drank it, and no one became terribly ill, but the water from our sink, shower and toilet flowed yellow and smelled awful. Those who drank it, tended to walk around with constant stomach trouble.

Even in a place like Bocas, where rain fell abundantly year round, sometimes incessantly for weeks on end, still, people wouldn't have clean water because rain water catchment isn't cheap. I supposed you could set out jugs and bowls to collect water, but how long can you leave them sitting in a place when dengue fever or other mosquito born illness are real health issue.

The idea, though, of buying every drop of water used for consumption is simply inane. For one, it's expensive. That, and there's nothing like carrying five gallon jugs of water from store to tiny boat then climbing onto rickety dock to keep you entirely aware of how much water you actually drink in a day.  Mostly, though, the idea of having to purchase what should be a free commodity is just wrong.

Unfortunately, that is too much the reality. We are lucky. We had the choice to simply go somewhere else, but this is not the case for most.

Perhaps that is why Charity:Water -- dedicated to making sure people worldwide have clean water to drink -- strikes such a chord with me. 

Scott Harrison and a group of Twitterfolk who are organizing Twestivals all over the world to raise money for this worthy cause. I ask, what can I do to help?

There's a Twestival in Buenos Aires, but I am over a thousand miles from there.

I did what I always do when far away from home, without many contacts and not sure who to call or ask for help or support. I go online. First, I went to couchsurfing.com, to the Couchsurfing Buenos Aires Group. It's a wonderful community. And a large community. And a community that supports charity and community projects just like Charity:Water. Thus, I was surprised to find not a single mention of the Buenos Aires Twestival.

(There is one now!)

Then to Twitter. I wrote to where people connect through 140 characters (or less) of typing, showing once again how such small gestures create huge impact. Contact @twestival for the main Twestival information. Or @twestivalba for the Buenos Aires Twestival information

But it seems there's not as much overlap between my two communities as I thought. So, Buenos Aires Couchsurfing meet Twitter. Twitter meet Couchsurfing. Come out for a good cause.

If you're in Buenos Aires, please join these lovely Twitterers to support this event. If not in Buenos Aires, please spread the world.  You'll find an entire listing of all the Twitter profiles for every Twestival worldwide on the main Twestival website along with options of how you can get involved. Join the event. Donate. Volunteer. Or just spread the word.

Even the smallest gesture means everything.

Comments

[Time Dalkat]

I'd peripherally been aware of what they were doing. I'll make a point to get involved now. Great post, thanks.

[harvesting rain]

We live in Vancouver and here in the North West we get a lot of rain. Yet no one thinks twice about harvesting that rain. It's clean and chemical free. I checked out some places to get this on the roof of my home and found Rain Tank which was great. Now I have water that doesn't taste like pipes. Look into it and I am sure you'll fall in love.