How Dirty Water Became a Teaching Moment | Join the Global 6K for Water

A day of water play turned into a very important life lesson. Find out How Dirty Water Became a Teaching Moment & how you can provide clean water for all by joining Global 6K for Water. I was compensated by World Vision for my time in writing this post. All opinions are my own.

How Dirty Water Became a Teaching Moment | Join the Global 6K for Water

Spring has arrived. Here in Florida, we’ve already pulled out the splash tables and bathing suits to cool off with some afternoon water play. My little fish loves playing with her water toys. It was this afternoon that I heard a loud shriek from the backyard.

EWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Little did I know that my recent sign up for the 6K for Water would be on my mind that afternoon as I went to calm down a preschooler on her way to a huge meltdown. Our day of water play turned into a beautiful teaching moment – and we BOTH learned why we won’t be complaining about dirty water anymore.

My Delicate Flower

My 4-year old has a decibel that hits my ears just so – like nails on a chalkboard. I call it the whine level. Things quickly escalate from fun times to rough roads ahead at this age. There are days when I get little glimpses into my daughter’s teenage years. “Mooooooooooooooooooooom! [Insert most-insignificant-thing-to-whine-about here.]” I admit, it’s easy to lose my temper over the whine level. What caused my child to scream with such fervor during our water play? It was a few blades of grass mixed with a few specks of dirt.

“The water is dirty!” she whined at me. She wanted me to clean it up. Deep breath in – a usual preschooler meltdown suddenly became an opportunity to teach my child in a gentle and loving way. Dirty water is so much more than a few bits of grass and dirt. I told her about my upcoming run – The Global 6K for Water with World Vision.

And She’s Not the Only One

I catch myself whining these days too. It’s over 80 degrees outside right now – only a hint of what summer is going to have in store for us. Training for my upcoming run, The World Vision 6K for Water, I find myself complaining how thirsty I am when I come back from a run. I grab my water bottle of the day. Some days, the water is not so fresh. Tasting “funny” or “off,” it’s easy to dump the glass and grab a new one. But I have no right to complain – not ever. The 6K for Water has really affected my daily life – beyond exercising.

The Dirty Water Crisis

What does real dirty water look like? It looks like this:

• Nearly 1,000 children under age 5 die every day from diarrhea caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation and improper hygiene.
• In Ethiopia alone, about 40 million people lack a clean water source and an estimated 70 million live without adequate sanitation.
• Every day, people around the world walk an average of 6 kilometers (approximately 3.7 miles) in search of water, and that water is often contaminated with life-threatening diseases.
• Women and children are the most impacted by the water crisis, as the burden of finding and carrying water each day often falls to them.

My heart as a mom really struggled with learning these facts. Imagining little children carrying heavy jugs of dirty water everyday just to survive is heart-wrenching. But we can do something. We can change these statistics.

No More Whining | Join the 6K for Water

World Vision believes the global water and sanitation crisis can be solved within our lifetime. Every 30 seconds, World Vision provides a new person with clean water as a part of their solution to end poverty. In 2015, World Vision provided access to clean water to 2.3 million people – with clean water and sanitation to one new person every 10 seconds through their water programs. Their next goal? To provide universal water access to all of World Vision’s reached areas by 2030. World Vision is not only believing, they’re acting to end the dirty water crisis. And we can help.

It’s called the World Vision 6K for Water. On May 6, 2017, I will be joining people around the world in the effort to provide clean water for all people by walking/running a 6K. Running 3.72 miles one time can mean the end of the daily struggle that kids are walking every single day of their lives. And it’s easy to join. Register to join the 6K for Water right now. Your $50 registration goes towards ending the dirty water crisis worldwide – and also gives you a great bundle of race goodies (t-shirt, race medal and more).

• Become a host site: Work together with your church, school, community center or run club to register as a host site (it’s free!) and spread the word about how fun and easy it is to support clean water programs around the world! Whether your goal is 10 people or 100 people, World Vision will equip you with all the marketing materials, race day signage and staff support for a successful race day.
• Join a local team: Walk or run with other Global 6K for Water participants at a host site near you.
• Start a virtual team: Invite your friends and family all around the country to join your “team” even though you will each be walking or running from your own neighborhoods on race day.
• Complete an individual race: Walk or run the Global 6K for Water from your own front door – whether on a treadmill or around the neighborhood with your kids, you’ll be taking part in a global effort to support clean water!

With so many options for the entire family to get involved, there’s just no reason not to sign up. Whining about “dirty water” is NOT an option – now that we know what other families are struggling with every single day. Will you join me in the World Vision 6K for Water? Help me to fight to end dirty water and give everyone access to clean water – no matter where they are. Be sure to follow World Vision via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest #6KforWater updates, sponsorship opportunities, plus more ways to give back and make a difference.

How can we end the real dirty water crisis?

Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more ways for families to give back, charities I personally love and causes that make a difference.

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