A Water Pump
Precisely what does it take to get me off my arse and post something to my blog?
A water pump.
Via Jim Borgman's blog:
Sothy took my family on a boat trip on a large lake from which we were able to observe a village in the course of its everyday life. We saw the residents washing their clothes on the rocks beside the lake, cooking in their open-air huts and going about their humble business, all with water dipped from the lake which also carried human waste. Both their humanity and their poverty affected us deeply and we came away asking Sothy how an outsider could help his much-abused country.
Most of their physical problems stemmed from poor sanitation, he explained, and a pump in a village could bring hygiene, safer food and improved health. When a village got a water pump, diarrhea dropped almost to zero and child death rates plummeted.
A pump in a village allowed the children, especially girls, to go to school instead of spending their days carrying water from the nearest river. Families could grow gardens and sometimes establish small businesses. My wife, a professor at NKU, has always believed that education is the key to a better life, and it became clear that safe water was the key to getting an education for these people.
We asked, "How much does it cost to install a pump for a village?"
"Very expensive," answered Sothy. "About one hundred American dollars."
Jim's stepdaughter even did something inventive [and capitalistic] by using her opportunity to buy up all the handmade bracelets she could find and reselling them for a profit at her school. The profits went back to Cambodia in the form of eleven new water pumps.
Sometimes, billions of dollars in government spending are not required. Sometimes, an individual can really make a difference.
Freedom works, each and every time it is tried. Read the rest of Jim's blog entry for a link to an organization that will help you turn dollars into water pumps.
by Dann
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