We were honored to be able to share the story of the thirsty with the 275 students that walked through the interactive display we designed specifically for this event.
Students were encouraged to pick up a jerry can as they walked into the room. The cans were filled up all the way, so they weighed about 40 pounds each. 40 pounds of water is a LOT once you pick up one of these guys.
Millions of women and children all over the world carry these jerry cans several miles daily to retrieve water for their families and communities.
Students were then introduced to Charlotte, a happy, healthy eight-year-old living in Central Africa who has been drinking clean water with her bear, Poppy, for more than a year.
But there was a time when Charlotte didn't have access to clean water. Students were encouraged to reflect on the current water crisis, and the fact that a billion people around the world don't have access to safe, clean water.
"Unsafe water is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by a billion of the world's most vulnerable people. It causes 80% of diseases and kills almost 5,000 children a day. Kids like Charlotte are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight illnesses."
We wanted to give students a way to tangibly respond to the water crisis, so we asked each participant to write a response to the water crisis- emotions, reactions, actions they planned to take. It was unbelievably powerful to read hundreds of notes from our peers at Baylor- so many students wrote that they never knew the water crisis existed. Even more wrote out prayers and cried out to God to bring His love and compassion on those without access to clean water.
For more information on how to impact the water crisis or how to get plugged in with The Wells Project at Baylor, send an email to wellsprojectbaylor@gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/wellsprojectbaylor.
Photos courtesy of Cortney Shedd and Stevie Britch
