water water everywhere

As I scroll down my Facebook news feed I am inundated with videos of people pouring buckets of water over themselves. The current trend of the 'ice bucket challenge' is raising awareness for charities such as the ALS Association, the MND association, and Macmillan Cancer Support. It's a great way to raise awareness about these diseases and get people donating towards research and support. Some people have chosen different charities to support with their challenge, including Water Aid. One of those people was me! I was nominated for the challenge by two friends, and although I'm yet to soak myself I have donated to Water Aid. Now, please don't see this blog as a criticism of the ice bucket challenge, I think it's great that people are getting actively involved in supporting charities. However, I think it's important for us to be aware of how other people live, for us to be grateful for our water and for us to work towards safe water and sanitation for the whole world.

Our most essential human need is water. On average, people can only survive for 3 days without it. So it's pretty important, right?

But did you know that roughly 1 in 10 people across the world don't have access to clean, safe water. 1 in 10. That's crazy. The likelihood is that these people will collect their water from a lake or pond, contaminated by human and animal waste as well as other bacteria. They probably have to walk a good few miles to find it, and when they do, it's not even safe for them to use.

But they have no choice. They drink the dirty water, or they go without.

The water causes all sorts of problems for them. Every year over 500,000 children die from diarrhoea as a result of drinking unsafe water and poor sanitary conditions. Because let's face it, if they don't have access to clean water to drink and cook with, they're not going to have a hygienic, flushing toilet either. That adds up to about 1,400 children dying every day because their water has made them sick. This problem is so huge that half the hospital beds in developing countries are occupied by someone whose illness has been caused by unclean water.

This video reveals some more shocking statistics about water and sanitation. The campaign towards the end of the video is from 2012 so it's a little out of date but many of the problems are still relevant. Have a watch.

While I was living in Uganda, we were blessed to live in a house with running water. However you couldn't drink it straight from the tap, it had to be boiled first. When we went to stay in the villages, we had to go and collect our water from the bore hole daily, and that too had to be boiled before we could use it. We hated doing it, and we only had to do it for about a week at a time! It made me so angry that in this world of touchscreen technology and sports cars and 12 hour plane journeys and 900 TV channels, that people were still living without water in their homes. Some people walk up to 4 miles to fetch water, making it an 8 mile round trip, for one jerrycan of water.

Sitting on my bed in England, I can stand up and walk five steps to the tap. Five steps to instant, clean and safe water. I can choose for the water to come out hot or cold. I could leave the tap running all day long and it wouldn't run out. I remember when I came back to the UK it was one of the things I really struggled with, and still do. I still think twice about filling up a glass straight from the tap. It was a daily occurrence to see children carrying their containers on their way to the pump. As we walked down to the slums we'd often meet children we knew and would carry the jerrycans for them. It broke my heart to see their little bodies struggling under the weight. And that's often the way it is. It's normally the children's responsibility to go and collect the water. I remember one day at school we had to teach a lesson about roles within the family. We talked about mothers and fathers, before asking them about a child's role in the home. Many of their responses were 'fetching water'. To them, it's normal. Just as for our children, it's normal for them to not even have to think about where their water is coming from. 

Water Aid's current campaign is focusing on girls. Girls are sometimes made to drop out of school to stay at home and do chores. Their walk to collect water sometimes takes up half the day. For teenage girls, if their school does not have decent toilet facilities then they will often drop out when they start their period. Things like this should not stop a girl from going to school. Her education is so important in providing her with the knowledge and confidence to reach her full potential. 

There are lots of great water charities out there.

Water Aid is one of my favourites and if you're willing, you can donate £3 by texting 'WATER' to 70007. (Did I mention that every donation up to 9th September will be matched by the UK Government?) Also check out this page on their website: www.wateraid.org/uk/what-we-do/the-crisis/water

This isn't a guilt trip, I just want to get you thinking, and appreciating. Maybe next time you turn on the tap, or step into the shower, or fill up a saucepan, you'll spare a thought for those less fortunate than you. Instead of using tap water for your ice bucket challenge, maybe you could go down to the beach and use sea water, or collect rain water. Perhaps you could look into 'Toilet Twinning' or raising money towards a water tank. There's little things we can do to prevent the wastage of water but also to raise awareness of the struggle that people across the world face.

We have been blessed abundantly, that we may bless abundantly.

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Quote: Jesus

"I have come into the world as a light,

so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

- John 12:46

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Picture: Mother Teresa

Quote: Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? 

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone

and as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson

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Quote: Jessica Valenti

"If feminism wasn't powerful,

if feminism wasn't influential,

people wouldn't spend

so much time putting it down."

- Jessica Valenti

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Just to say...

I'm going away for a couple of days so I've scheduled a few posts and things. Feel free to leave comments on previous blogs, I love hearing from you. May God bless you this week.  

"We know only too well 

that what we are doing is nothing more 

than a drop in the ocean. 

But if the drop were not there, 

the ocean would be missing something."

- Mother Teresa 

No More Page 3

I sure hope you've heard about this campaign.

If you've ever bought The Sun Newspaper, or seen it in the supermarket, or used it to wrap up a pass the parcel present, then you'll be aware of 'Page 3'.

For many years, the third page of this paper has been filled with a photograph of a topless female model. This seemed almost 'normal'. However we are living in the 21st Century and I'm appalled that this practice is still acceptable in our society. 

Page 3 portrays women as sexual objects that are used at the disposal of men. It teaches young girls that their body and their boobs are more important than their intelligence and creativity. The image of the half naked woman is there solely for the sexual gratification of the male readership. 

The NMP3 Campaign make this brilliant point:

"It is misogynistic to have bare breasts in a family newspaper. You might think this sounds harsh. But the largest female image in the issue which enraged us is of Emily from Warrington, even though Jessica Ennis (who is also featured in this issue, although in a much, much smaller photo) has just won a gold medal for her country. This means that the message that The Sun is conveying is that a woman’s primary place is to be there with her clothes off so that men can look at her. This limits women and anything, which limits women, is misogynistic." (NMP3 Facebook page)

So the topless model gets pride of place, over the decathlon athlete who just won the Olympic gold for Britain? What kind of message does that send out? I don't want my friends, cousins, future daughters, GB girls, growing up thinking that their worth is measured in their bodies and how much they are willing to reveal. The sexualisation of the media is getting out of control and we need to make a stand against it. Why is it that a naked lady is used to advertise perfume? Or a pair of jeans is sold with an image of a topless girl?

The No More Page 3 campaign is currently gathering signatures for their petition. The petition is asking David Dinsmore (Editor of The Sun) to get rid of bare boobs from The Sun. I strongly advise you to sign it:

www.change.org/p/david-dinsmore-take-the-bare-boobs-out-of-the-sun-nomorepage3

I am a leader in Girls' Brigade, an organisation that supports the No More Page 3 Campaign.  We were asked why we signed the petition, and here are some of the responses...

We hope to see the 'sun set' on Page 3. There is no place for it in our society, and we do not want to be seen simply as sexual objects. As women we still encounter sexism in our daily lives, from crude remarks and side comments to being paid less for doing the same job as a man. (see this report from The Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/11035394/Women-have-to-work-14-years-extra-to-earn-what-men-do.html). You don't have to be a woman to support this campaign, you simply need to recognise that sadly, we still live in a culture where women are not treated equally to men. 

Find out more about Page 3 here: http://nomorepage3.org

Quote from Rebecca West

Iraq: Yazidi boy found in the desert

Every evening I sit and watch the news, and every evening my heart gets broken. What we see on our television screens is horrific; violence, wars, death, disease, destruction. Yet what we see doesn't even begin to measure against what the people are going through. We can turn the TV off and go about our daily lives, but for these people in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Gaza, Liberia, Ethiopia, there's no escape. 
A few days ago there was a report about a young boy in Iraq. When Kurdish soldiers found him in the desert, he was in a coma, close to death. Severely dehydrated after being exposed to up to 50 degree heat with no protection. The boy, whose name is not known, is disabled. He has paralysis down one side of his body which meant he could not move himself or cover his eyes from the glare of the sun. As a result, his eyes dried out and doctors say that his corneas have turned white - almost blinding him. How terrifying for this little boy. He is thought to only be about three years old. To spend an estimated 24 hours lying on your back under the merciless sun, you would be confused and distraught. 

The situation in Iraq is extensive and you could easily spend all day reading news reports and researching into the country and the IS. There is a brief description of the events in Iraq here - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28761383. I won't pretend to know the full story about what is happening, I don't think we ever can. But it is vital that we in the west start to sit up and listen more about what is going on in the world, and start to care. We're all human, and where you live or where you come from should not determine your worth.
It is thought that the boy was part of a Yazidi group who were fleeing their homes. The Yazidis are a religious group, but you cannot convert to Yazidism - you must be born into it. The group is one of the minorities who have come under attack, as well as Christians. Some have said that the boy's mother panicked when they came under gunfire and ran, leaving her son behind. Others say that she became too exhausted to carry him any further. 
This boy is not the only victim. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, attacked, injured or killed in the crisis. 
What can we do to help? As well as worries over military action, there is also a huge humanitarian crisis as people are left with no food, water or shelter. Organisations such as UNICEF and Save The Children are providing humanitarian aid and setting up refugee camps. If you feel led to donating, their websites are just a google away. 
Short term relief is required at the moment, but long term answers are also needed. Will these people be able to return to their homes? How long will it be before the children can return to school? Or before their parents can return to work? What will be the long term effects?
Prayer is also pretty vital. Pray for peace in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Pray for the governments of the world, notably in the Middle East but also the UK and US as they try to develop a response. Pray for the civilians who have been forced to leave their homes, and those who have lost family members.
I think my main purpose for this post is to raise awareness. For those of you who think the news is 'boring' or who switch off when this kind of thing is reported. It is so important for us to start to care about what goes outside of what directly affects us, and to offer help in whichever way we can. 

Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera, The Telegraph 

Hope has two beautiful daughters:

their names are anger and courage;
anger at the way things are,
and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.

St Augustine

Book Review - I Am Malala

The other day we were at my Aunty and Uncle's house. I was playing with my youngest cousin when out of the corner of my eye I spotted this book. I had been desperate to get my hands on it and so was very excited when I was allowed to borrow it.

I had mentioned to a few of my friends that I was reading Malala Yousafzai's book and the most popular response was "Who?". So for those of you who don't know, Malala Yousafzai is a 17 year old girl from Pakistan. She openly campaigned for the right to education for all children, particularly girls. Shockingly, she was shot in the head by the Taliban, on her way home from school in 2012. But Malala came back fighting and is now an international figure fighting for education worldwide. She even spoke at the United Nations on her 16th birthday! I went with Girls' Brigade to the Southbank Centre in London to watch her speech via a live feed and was totally in awe of her and her courage to stand up for what she believed was right.

Malala speaking at the UN

In the book, Malala describes her life in Swat - the province she grew up in with her family. Her father is the Headmaster of her school and is her biggest supporter, always encouraging her to use her voice.

Malala's story is incredible. She describes how her life changed under the Taliban and the oppression they brought upon her community and country. Yet Malala continued to speak out about a girl's right to education and still attended school despite the threat of attack.

I certainly would recommend that you read this book, or at least Google Malala and find out a bit more about her and her Malala Fund.

Education for girls is something I am very passionate about. I love the above quote - "a girl with a book". Educating girls is so important and there is so much potential behind investing in a girl. Across the world, there are 65 million girls out of school (Source: UNESCO/Plan International). To put that into perspective, there are 63 million people living in the UK. That's the equivalent of every single person living in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (plus an extra 2 million!) being denied an education, leaving them illiterate and with limited options for where their life will take them. Just imagine how much those 65 million girls could change and improve the world if they were just given the chance. Educating a girl empowers her to actively seek change in her community and in the wider world.

Getting girls into school is not just an expenditure. An increase of only 1% in girls secondary education attendance, adds 0.3% to a country's GDP. (Source: Plan International) So educating a girl will not only improve her life but improve the economy of the entire country. What's not to like?

A child should not be defined by their gender. Whether girl or boy, they should be cherished, loved and empowered. Given the platform from which they can be inspired to change their worlds, and in turn the rest of the world, for the better. Education is a basic human right to which we should grant to everyone.

a bit of background...

Hello! I'm Grace. Most of you will have followed me over from my gap year blog. I've just returned from 10 months in Uganda serving with the charity Smile International. While I was out there, I kept a blog - www.gracegapyear.blogspot.com - below I will insert a snippet for you to get an idea of where I'm at at the moment!

"Well, there we go! Back in England. Everyday I seem to see someone who I've not seen yet and so lots of hugs have been shared over the past two weeks. Adjusting to life back in England is taking some time. I don't think I'll ever get used to some things and I've certainly come home with a passion for justice.

Going to Uganda changed my life. And I don't say that lightly. I was always interested in the developing world and there was a little flame burning inside of me with the passion for serving the poor and fighting injustice. Now that little flame is a consuming inferno. There's no way I can sit back and enjoy my comfortable English life, ignorant of the world beyond my doorstep. I must go and I must serve and I must follow my Lord Jesus. I have such anger inside of me, but it's righteous anger. It's my duty to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and give courage to those who know that there is more to life than how they are currently living. I refuse to watch the world destroy itself. I could talk about this all day, but I will end here."

In September I am off to university to study International Development and plan to keep up this blog alongside my studies.