BH2O+ - Be Hope To Her, Nuru International
Thursday I participated in BH2O+ at WVU. I went early to help my friends coordinating the event on campus with any set up needs, and just to help in general. They were so on top of it. By the time I arrived everything was well taken care of, to the point that one of the other girls and I had time to walk down to so.zo and get coffee for the coordinators!
Originally I thought I may not get to walk, as I had been asked to help man the tables and sell merchandise. But as it turns out, I had the opportunity to walk with a couple girls I really didn't know too well. Just the experience of getting to the river with empty buckets on our heads had us thinking. Our arms were already tired just from the first mile, with no water! Once we made it to the river, a friend and I decided that we would go for full buckets of water. DANG. That was crazy heavy.
What's it like to walk with 5 gallons (give or take) of water on your head? Well... imagine your favorite 3 or 4 year old. Now, imagine strapping them to your head and trying to walk. Oh, and this toddler on your head, they like to move around, and look at things, and, well, you get the picture. That water really has a mind of its own, and it takes a good amount of focus to keep from spilling it, as well as stay focused on getting to the end of the route!We, being in the great mountainous state that we live in, had to walk up hill from the very beginning of out route back. I mean straight up a hill from the river. Then, we encountered numerous steps and hills on our way back to the rally. It got really hard just to make it up those hills, arms shaking, neck and head throbbing, back sore. And sweating. Even though it was only 60 degrees. Let's just face it. It is so much hotter in so many place that they do this.
Along the route multiple people would stop because it was so hard. The amazing thing being, not a single person quit. Not one. They all would have help, or even hoist their buckets back onto their heads themselves, and start the journey again. A true testament to perseverance. It was great to be able to encourage each other along the way, and to share our thoughts about what it would be like to do this day in and day out. It really brought the girls together, even the ones who had never met before starting the walk.
I think my favorite moment happened about half way through the walk. One of my friend's bucket slipped from her kanga, and, well, spilled all over the place. the girl she was walking with stopped to help her, and in the process, her bucket dumped to. Not to be dissuaded, they continued their walk, wet, with empty buckets on their heads. A few minutes later, as we started up another round of steps and hills, one offered to take some of the water from another girl's bucket to help her out. Wow. We were all in pain at this point, and the fact that she was willing to give up her easy walk and take on some of the pain of someone else was phenomenal. Afterward, she left a comment on the BH2O+ blog post about her experience. Her comment reflected the fact that had she been in Africa, doing this for her own need, every drop of water spilled would be valuable. The bucket that dropped would have to be taken back to the water source, refilled, and the journey back started again.
Profound. Something we take so for granted. Something as simple as clean water. How in the world do these girls do it? I feel like I was in a car wreck because I'm so sore from one trip. And they do this multiple times a day. On top of that, I was able to eat a nice healthy breakfast before I left my house. Many of those girls don't have the luxury of nutritious meals. When I miss a meal, I get tired. Lethargic. Surely not wanting to carry a heavy bucket of water on my head for any distance to bring fresh water to my family.Even as I've been typing this I've been making dinner. Consisting of my organic pasta, sauce, chicken. it might be the first time ever that I have really stopped to think about how blessed I am to have such a meal any time I want. Just boiling the water had a greater meaning for me today. I am able to turn on my faucet and have cool water. i didn't have to take that water I boiled only to cook my pasta, and then try to cool it to the ambient temperature to drink. It is so much more real now.
