Great Western Loop 2022
790 million people! 790 million people (11% of the world’s population) lack access to clean water.
It’s 2022, and while people complain about what so-and-so posted on Facebook or are busy writing a one-star restaurant review on Yelp because there was too much dressing on their Mediterranean couscous salad, these are insignificant first-world problems compared to the lack of access to clean, drinkable water, which is necessary for human survival.
We don’t think twice about this in our normal lives. We go out to dinner with a group of people, and there is always that person who just orders a round of water for the table, whether we want it or not. Most don’t drink it, let alone finish it, and once we leave the table, our server dumps it down the drain. Water is free and plentiful for us; why should we care? We were born in a place that has it all set up for us. This is the hand we were dealt. Others are not so lucky — no fault of their own, just the way it goes.
This crisis does not receive nearly enough attention. Maybe it’s because people don’t know this statistic; maybe it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind. Regardless of what it is, it is.
I’m just a guy who likes to hike, but as someone living in a first-world country, I have something that these 800 million people don’t — a faucet. I can stop at a number of stores and choose any number of beverages at any time. I clean my clothes and dishes without question. I can brush my teeth and take showers whenever I want.
Imagine if the only way to do any of that would first require a 5-mile walk in the morning to the only water source around, and upon arrival, it’s crowded with several dozen people all trying to get their water for the day. The area around the water source is covered with trash and feces, the water itself is not clean, and once you have filled up, loaded up, and drank up, you turn around and walk the same 5 miles you just did, back to your village to cook, clean, and use that water for everything throughout the day. Whether it’s clean or not, you don’t have a choice; that’s just the way it is.
I have chosen to partner my charity, the Fill It Up Foundation, with the Chris Long Foundation and its Waterboys initiative, which is dedicated to raising funds and awareness to bring clean water to communities in East Africa and works to fund the building of clean water wells through WorldServe International.
Not being a rich man, I can’t just go around the world building wells in all these places (although if I could, I would), but raising money and spreading awareness is something I can do.
There is that saying, “I’m not here for a long time, I’m here for a good time.” I agree, but on top of that, let us help as many people who are less fortunate as we can before we go. These villages will benefit from clean drinking water long after we’re gone.