Digging Deep for Christmas Presents
Wouldn’t you love to wake up on Christmas morning, find a huge, beautifully wrapped present with your name on it under the tree and open it up to discover that the brightly colored package contained none other than a bottle of clean, cool, fresh water?
Wait a second…
If that doesn’t sound like your Christmas fantasy come true, then you’re probably not one of the 1.4 billion people who live without clean drinking water each day.
You’re also probably not the parent of the child who died from a water-borne illness eight seconds ago – or the one who will die eight seconds from now.
Or the 180 children who will die this Christmas Day from diseases related to contaminated drinking water. Kind of difficult to enjoy yet another serving of turkey with all that carnage going on, isn’t it?
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Fear not. You can have your turkey and eat it, too.
Just follow the example of Bob and Tere Friesen of Abbotsford, BC. Together with their extended family, they raised enough money, by cutting back on Christmas presents last year, to pay for a water well to be drilled in a village in India. And they still had more than enough money left over for turkey and a few small presents for themselves!
Prior to April 2003, when the well was actually dug, villagers had to walk one kilometre each day to get fresh water. Thanks to the generosity of the Friesens and their family, the 1,000 people in this village now have a source of clean drinking water right in their own community. Just imagine the impact this well will have on that village! Imagine the hours saved by not having to haul water each day, the improved health conditions which will give children opportunities that they’ve been prevented from experiencing before due to illness and death.
And what’s the price tag for such a life-changing gift?
Between $2,000 to $4,000 per well, depending on the location of the well and how deep it has to be drilled. Communities in India, China and Africa are desperate for such basic amenities. Will you help this holiday season?
For more information on how you can turn this Christmas into an opportunity to truly give the gift of life, please contact the Global Aid Network (GAIN) and ask about their Water for Life initiative.
