"Water for Africa" Sunset Dolphin Cruise 2012

"Water for Africa" Sunset Dolphin Cruise 2012, a set on Flickr.

Our inaugural event was a huge success, eveyone had a blast for a great cause. We got our name out there more and raised some funds too.

it was quite amazing cruising over water for water and feeling so blessed to be surrounded by so much beauty with great people with little real worries in life.

Just the thought of having to walk 4 hours each way to carry a 5 gallon jug back on my head full for 4 hours makes me cringe!

2011 Run for Water 5k

GROW Africa's first well 2011

WOW...A day without a shower

I am on a trip in NYC at a seminar this weekend.  I am staying in Soho and the trip has been amazing, well, until yesterday.  Our hotel was doing routine maintenance that caused the water to be shut off from midnight to 5am.  Unfortunately, when I needed a shower at 6am, the maintenance was not finished and I was without any running water.

I needed to be at the seminar by 7am and the water was no where near coming on for me to shower, brush my teeth, wash my face to go about my day.  I had a bottle of water in my room so I managed to do light washing and brushed my teeth.  This did not allow me to wash my hair or have that refreshing, long, hot shower that starts my day, washing off the past ready for a great day.

I went about my day feeling less than mentally and physically tip top.  I had bed head all day.  I found that I felt a bit off all day.  The lack of the shower in this hotel caused me to feel angry that I had to pay for my room and not receive the most basic convenience I would expect from my hotel.

This truly was a minor inconvenience when perspective is in place.  It brought my attention to the villagers in remote Zambia and other places in the world that couldn't even fathom having a hot shower or even a shower daily let alone ever.  I thought of the women in the villages that have to walk for hours to gain access to water to cook with and drink and how little water they can actually bring back as they have to carry all the water they gather.

Our modern blessed conveniences are a true blessing.  We are able to shower, run water to brush our teeth, water our gardens and lawns.  We pay for bottled water because tap water doesn't taste as good.  Imagine all that taken away, all those conveniences gone and the little water you can get your hands on, you need to survive, to live and hope you have enough when your child gets sick from diarrhea so he or she does not die.

All people in the world deserve to have access to water to drink to maintain longer, healthier lives.  Spend today thinking about those with little or none every time you access water to drink, shower, brush your teeth...swim.  Now, that is true abundance.

Water changes lives

FAQ's:

• 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water
• 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoea
• 3,900 children die every day from water borne diseases
• Daily per capita use of water:
• North America & Japan 350 litres daily
• Europe 200 litres daily
• Sub-Saharan Africa         10-20 litres daily

The villagers in remote Zambia can not dig deep wells as the sandy terrain falls in the holes.  since the wells are not deep enough, about 3 feet deep, there is not much water.  It takes the women a long time to gather water as they have to use a small cup and a stick to lower it into the well bringing it small amounts of water to pour into a 5 gallon jug, then carry it back home.  If they can not get water from these wells they have to walk up to 4 hours to get as much water as they can carry back home.

GROW Africa aligns with organizations throughout Africa beginning in Zambia with the Zambia Project to install much deeper wells to give the villager abundant and easier access to clean water reducing death and disease.  The well building process takes 2 visits over 2 weeks to dig the well, set the rings and install the pump.

Each well takes about 3-6 of our serving team members along with 10-12 local villagers to install.  We utilize the villagers to create an ownership mentality as well as teach them how to install and maintain the well.

Miami to Key West Relay

Our Jack n Jill Run for Water Across Water 192 mile relay from Miami to Key West was a resounding success! Our team of 10 runners bore the heat, the night sky, the leg cramps and lack of sleep to acheive a challenge far greater than many will physically face in their life, all to make a difference for those with a great need of water in the bush of Zambia!

Some great advice on how to acheive this type of physical and mental goal from one of our team members, Wesley Alden:

BE OPEN TO NEW ADVENTURES

Even more valuable than finishing the race is the fact that I broke out of my shell and allowed myself to experience this adventure with new people. I didn’t know anybody on my 10-person team when I headed down to Miami, which scared me more than the physical part of the race.  But I quickly realized my teammates and I were united in a common goal — to raise money and awareness for GROW Africa — and that provided the glue that helped carry us 191.1 miles.

LOOSEN YOUR GRIP AND HAVE FUN

Nobody in my van had ever competed in the Ragnar Relay Series before, so there were many missteps. However, when you are participating in a crazy scenario such as running to Key West, you have to embrace the chaos and just go with it.  No sleep? Adrenaline will get you through. Icy Hot in places it shouldn’t be? Nothing a few tears and paper towels won’t fix. Bloody knee? Don’t fret, it’s a badge of honor. Water supplies running dry? Ration it out until the next convenience store. Lost again? Ughhh, with all the maps and GPS the amount of times we got turned around was absurd… but it made for some funny moments. Bathroom facilities getting scarier and scarier? Realize that toilet paper is a valuable commodity and be thankful that someone thought to pack some.

Being a control freak, I had to loosen my grip and not stress out every time we stumbled — or I would have had a meltdown before the race even began.

KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES

As much as you have to go with the flow, I made sure that when it came to my safety, I was very clear on my expectations of my teammates. Before my first night run, I TOLD my team that they would make at least 3 support stops to check on me. I knew I wouldn’t have trouble running the 9.2-mile leg, but in the dead of night, I didn’t know what obstacles I might encounter (crazy drivers, human-swallowing potholes, hungry alligators). Turns out there was nothing to worry about, but it was a great feeling to spot my team pulled over on the side of the road waiting to check on me every couple of miles.

EMBRACE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

When you are put under duress, you quickly bond with those around you. I was proud of my teammates when they finished a leg or hit a targeted time. And when we crossed the finish line as a group, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride for this team that I had just met 32 hours earlier. We became a dysfunctional family or sorts — tired, sore, hungry, irritable zombies — but although we looked like the walking dead, we reveled in the lunacy of the race and our ability to get to the finish line as a team.

Congrats and thank you to our team of "Jack and Jill's":
Justin Pickering - Gerald Pickering - Nathan Pickering - Erica Poole - Amy Lawrence
Wesley Alden - Barb Lawrence - Lee Hurd - Joe Magallanes - Kathy Masterson

Shallow well in the bush of Zambia

This video was from Kathy Hardtke's first trip to Zambia 2007.  This trip broke her heart watching the villagers work so hard to gain access to the little water available to them.

You will see here, Nina trying to gain access to enough water to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.  As you can imagine watching this process as well as seeing the little water available, washing is not on the top of the local villagers list of use for their water. 

They build these shallow wells and have to wait daily for the water to seep in.  They can not dig deeper wells because the sand falls into the well.  More times than not the local women have to carry a jug up to 4 hours to fill with water from small ponds and carry the full container back to the village.  Just picture your child sick and dehydrated and in great need of water...this is why the life expectancy is so low.

What we in America take for granted means life or death and health for these amazing people.  Help GROW get the word out and support our mission to provide clean drinking water to those with little or none.  You can make a difference in many ways:

1. Encourage your friends and coworkers to 'like' our Facebook page
2. Follow us and encourage others to do so as well
3. Subscribe to our blog forward posts to everyone you know
4. Donate any dollar amount one time or monthly
5. Buy our products to help raise funds

"It takes a village to raise a child" African Proverb.  This philosophy goes across the board in growing GROW Africa, we need you in any capacity your heart leads you to make a difference.

"If you think you are too small to make a difference in this world, you have never been in a room with a mosquito" African Proverb.  BE THE MOSQUITO!

Faces of Zambia

The people are amazing

On my first trip to Zambia, I did not know what to expect.  I thought long and hard about what my perceptions were of people in Africa, particularly in rural Africa.  I found myself thinking these people were less fortunate, impoverished and much less successful than myself, than us, in America because they did not have the 'goal oriented' nature to create a better life for themselves.

What I found was surprising to me and completely different than my perceptions.  I found a humble, kind and happy people.  I found that they had the same 'root' desires as myself, those of love from family, friends and community, longevity and peace.  I found that the struggles they had were of the most basic needs of water which prevented them from healthy crops to feed themselves and protect themselves from disease causing death to those they love.  I found I had more in common with them than I had different.

I discovered a new place in my heart, one of a desire to live simply like them.  I was amazed at how happy these people were with as little as they had.  I could not imagine how they could be happy without the big house, large salary, fabulous toys until I found that the very things we in America strive so hard for are the very things that keep us from the peace and joy we seek in these very things.  We think these successes, these toys and material possesions will fulfill some need, only to find simple emptiness that can not be filled without God and human connection.  A part of me envied what they had, this surprised me greatly.

These very thoughts are what drive me to help the people of rural Africa, to help them meet their basic human needs.  I am not there to give them the biggest homes, material luxuries or abundant toys to distract them from the core of peace and happiness they embrace.  My hope and prayer is to offer them assistance to meet their most basic human need and allow them to enjoy the fruit of family and community they already own, hopefully with a longer life with greater health to enjoy.  They already own far more than many Americans, peace, love and joy.  Now if I can bring them water, food and vaccines...maybe they can teach me something.  Or everything :-).

Join us in Zambia October 2011

We are accepting applications and putting the team together for our October 2011 well building mission trip. We are very ex-cited about the team that will be serving together this Fall. There are still a few spots left, if you are interested in joining us in Zambia. Please visit our Zambia Trip page to get details and download application for the trip.

Our team members will be traveling from all over the states. Each team member will fly into Atlanta via Delta to meet up prior to continuing our journey to Africa. Our travels continue from Atlanta via Delta with a layover in Johannesburg, South Africa and arriving in Lusaka the following day. 

We will stay the night in Lusaka and complete our last 8 hour leg of travel on an executive coach bus with air conditioning and TV early morning arriving in Mongu, Zambia. The leadership team with the Zambia Project will meet us in Mongu to take us for a short drive to base camp where we will set up for the night.

Our mission trip will include 10 full days in the bush building a well, getting to know the local villagers and singing African songs by the fire in the evenings. It is sure to be a remarkable experience and our team will create memories of a lifetime and come home changed from the inside out!

The cost for the trip is $3,800 per person and includes travel costs; flights, bus; hotel (based on double occupancy); food in the bush; and repatriation insurance. Our team members can either raise the funds or pay for the trip for themselves or any combination of the two. The funds raised will be 100% tax deductible.

Once a team member is approved, a deposit of $500 will be required at time of application approval with the balance of $3300 due 75 days prior to the departure date. GROW Africa has sample fundraising letters to send and ideas to help you raise funds for your trip. Call or email Kathy Hardtke for questions 239-222-6882 or Kathy@growafricainc.org.