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February is a time for embracing those who are dear, and Valentine's Day is an appropriate time to honor loved ones in a special way. We often splurge with gifts and words to pay tribute. On this Valentine’s Day let’s pay tribute to women who deserve to be honored on this day and every day.
After a challenging year that often called for heroics, members of the media seek stories of heroes, those who stepped forward and made a difference in the lives of others. During these times television reporters are often interested in persons who have been named heroes. They may be firefighters who often save lives, risking their own in a burning building, persons staffing a crisis center help line, counseling someone considering suicide or first responders rescuing civilians struggling to survive a natural disaster, as we currently see in Turkey and Syria. The list of “heroes” is endless. Cameras are present and interviews offer well deserved praise.
We want to celebrate “invisible heroes” who do not make the headlines and are not interviewed on television. Their daily routine saves lives. These heroes are Water Women. They understand that the “common good” means reaching out to others, even if it is not convenient. We believe the Water Women of Haiti are indeed heroes. They understand the philosophy of indigenous people who hold that “One Bowl and One Spoon” is a way of life. The gifts of the earth are all in one bowl, all to be shared from a single spoon. Water is to be treated with respect and shared.
Since 2012 over 85,000 Haitian Water Women have been trained and each woman shares her filter with three families, with each family size ordinarily 4.5 members. These Water Women are instructed in the use of water filters by Haitian trainers. Haitians are helping other Haitians, and this has built trust and elicited gratitude.
One of the greatest challenges for the people of Haiti now is cholera. In the present outbreak, over 500 Haitians have died, yet very few cases have been confirmed in our Water Woman saturated communities. Our Water Woman location data, layered over Haitian Ministry of Health cholera data, demonstrates that Water Woman communities are highly cholera resistant.
Every day Water With Blessings joins hands with the 21 trainers and Water Women of Haiti providing both financial and moral support. We can do that because of generous donors. We need to continue to throw a lifeline to women in Haiti who will become Water Women. Together we can continue to make a difference.
Will you honor a Water Woman as a special Valentine this month? In so doing you also honor God’s thirsty children who depend on her never ending devotion. Your gift enables this life-saving work to continue in Haiti and in countries around the world.
If you would like to support these heroes with a donation, or if you have a question, please email Debbie@waterwithblessings.org.
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