FOUR the well of it

“Auntie’s gonna be mad!” I heard called out as I came into the house from outside. I was attending a BBQ at my sister’s house and I recognized the little voice making the loud declaration as my six-year-old niece Payton’s. It seems she had walked into the bathroom to find the faucet running wide open into the sink and despite the steady stream of people in and out of the house all day, there was no one around upon whom she could unleash her would-be reprimand. And she was rattled.

I’m not gonna lie, my heart burst with pride. Wide. Open. Because even she knows. She knows that water is valuable. She knows it is to be respected. She knows that some kids don’t have enough to fill a bath or run through a sprinkler. She knows.

And while the delivery of the clean water we support in Nicaragua does not involve stainless steel faucets or porcelain sinks, it is no less carefully managed by those who also know the importance of using it responsibly – by having endured the scarcity and the being without (and not so much by the fear of Auntie’s wrath).

When I started this initiative, it was because I wanted to not only share stories of change, but because I wanted to have a real hand in generating them. And, I wanted to give others the opportunity to do the same. I wanted people to see, and to believe in, and to experience the impact we could all have together!

Your desire to connect communities, your enthusiasm, your coins from your couch cushions, your change drives, your water walks, your bottle collection traditions, and the conversations you have had with your kids – collectively, your ripples – have more than accomplished what I initially set out to do.