Be Hope To Her Retrospective

BH2O+ Day of Recap Video from Nuru International on Vimeo.

Yesterday, Nuruuploaded a video celebrating itsBe Hope To Herevent. This nationwide event was the first event of it's kind Nuru hosted, and after you see the video, I think you will agree with me that it was a HUGE success.

Here's what happened. Women on eleven college campuses walked through the center of their campuses with yellow five gallon buckets and went to a water source to fill them. Then they walked through their campus carrying these buckets on their heads to a final destination where there was a rally, clean water, food, music and a wide variety of fun.

At the same time these women walked, men on these campuses held posters or helped educate folks in other ways.

For over one billion people, this kind of walk is a part of daily life. You can scroll back through my blog entries to see a video that explains this a little bit better too.

Part of the reason why Nuru did this is because it is raising funds for FOUR deep water wells for the people of Kuria, Kenya. Want to help? These wells will cost several thousand to get drilled, but if you want to give and support this endeavor, visit the Nuru website and donate.

Oh, and if you watch the video closely, you just might see a familiar face in it. ;)

Water Girls

Water Girls, originally uploaded by Nuru International.

Over the lenten season, I attempted cut down my purchases of beverages and keep an accurate budget of what I spent during the course of the lenten season on beverages. It was kind of shocking to see how the total came out. I tried to keep track of times that people offered me other drinks (whether it was me or them, somebody had to make the purchase).

As a result, I realized that on average, I probably would have spent about $3/day on beverages. A cup of coffee here, and a soda there, and some juice at this spot all kind of add up. Of course there were days when I probably wouldn't have bought anything, but I think I realized over the course of time that I take for granted that I have all of these choices.

In the end, the amount I donated was a combination of what I would have spent combined with the amount I actually did spend on occasion (there were a few times I downed a coke, a coffee, or a vitamin water), and a little bit on top just to round everything out.

It's been an eye opening time with regard to the access to a variety of beverages and even more so to the availability of clean drinking water at my disposal.

If you get a chance, check out this website, and perhaps take stock of the simple pleasures like water that we all take for granted.

And, if you are so inclined, I encourage you to give to Nuru as well. It's a great organization, and they are planning to drill four deep water wells during the month of May for the 5000 people of Kuria, Kenya.

Will you join me in helping to bring lasting change to the people of Kuria?

Nuru Launches New Website!!!

Josephine, originally uploaded by Nuru International.

Her name is Josephine. She lives in rural Kenya in a tiny hut made of straw, mud and dung. She has 5 children; 3 are sick with malaria. The youngest died last year on Josephine’s back as she frantically travelled 30 kilometers to the nearest clinic for medicine that would have saved his life.

Josephine walks 5 hours each day to get water, and the water sometimes makes her and her children sick. She doesn’t have access to fertilizer and good seed to grow crops to feed her family, so she must hire herself out to provide them their daily meal of porridge. There’s no school for her children to attend, and she wouldn’t be able to afford the small fees for books and uniforms even if there was. Her husband died last year of AIDS and she is most likely infected, however, she doesn’t want to be tested because there’s no medicine available, and the uninformed superstitions of the community regarding HIV/AIDS would label her and her children as outcasts.

Josephine is trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty. She has no choices. It’s not her fault. Neither she nor her children did anything to deserve this. Yet one in six people in our world today are like Josephine, living without hope.

Insert Nuru.
Fast-forward 5 years.

Josephine lives just a few minutes from a deep well that provides clean drinking water for her entire family. There is a simple medical clinic down the road with basic supplies and competent staff who educate the community about the causes of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and typhoid, and provide antiretroviral medication (ARVs) to keep Josephine well. She and her neighbors have access to high quality seed, fertilizer, and agricultural know-how that enable them to increase their crop yields by 100%. This bounty allows them to not only feed themselves but also earn a small income to pay school fees for their children and invest in next year’s crop.

Josephine’s children attend the primary and secondary school where they receive a sound education from qualified teachers. As the community continues to prosper, a village bank is established to provide micro-loans and training to promising entrepreneurs, helping them develop a business plan and learn fundamental skills. The small fees the community pays for its basic services are re-invested to spur further development and create sustainable growth, allowing the community to lift itself out of extreme poverty.

This is innovation in action.
This is holistic and sustainable development.
This is a dozen NGOs and thousands of grassroots volunteers working alongside the poor to break the cycle of extreme poverty.
This is NGO 2.0.
This is Nuru.

To find out more about Nuru, and check out the new site click here.