For water. Today, around 289,000 children under five die every year from diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That’s almost 800 children per day, or one child every two minutes. [WaterAid.org Statistics]. Even sadder, is that I start to feel deprived if I think I have to go without a shower for a morning. Then I recall the images of those days I spent among some of the less fortunate, but richest people I’ve known, and it snaps me right out of it. I wrote about them, and those missionary trips, in Once Upon a Time I Was a Princess – And Then I Woke Up. That was perspective on steroids, my friends.
From those life-changing experiences, LIFO (Living Instruments For Others) was born. In 1985, my friend, Albert Perez, with whom I shared some of these experiences, founded LIFO, a grassroots, non-profit organization based in Miami that helps some of the poorest people in the Dominican Republic improve their living conditions, education, and health. For over 30 years, LIFO volunteers have been bringing these communities access to clean drinking water, sanitation resources, and healthcare. I encourage you to read about LIFO, and donate to support its great mission.
Water is a blessing most of us take for granted, especially clean drinking water. Here in the U.S., we don’t have to walk miles to get muddy water from a river for a drink on a hot day. And for that, I am profoundly grateful.
What are you thankful for today?
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”
-W.H. Auden
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
-Anne Frank
Those Dominican trips were truly amazing!!! We learned to be so grateful for the little things in life which we take for granted. Life is a gift which we should cherish.