Meet Lory

Charity Water as you probably realize by now is all about raising not only money but awareness for building wells in Africa. About a month ago they launched a video that has gone viral.

In this video we have the privilege to meet a child by the name of Lory. He just turned six years old. Instead of asking for new action figures or toys of the like, Lory asked that everyone donate six dollars in order to help people in Rwanda. His campaign raised 2,386 dollars. Talk about incredible.

This video is great because of the different camera angles that the videographer used to bring the point across. I think one of my favorite scenes though throughout the course of the entire video is where we see children drinking the clean water and enjoying it. Seeing the joy on their faces is one of the main reasons why I am so adamant about making sure these people get clean water.

I believe in Charity Water so much that I am going to commit to having everyone donate twenty dollars in my name come time for my birthday in October.

The Science Behind it All

Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. 90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are in children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The World Health Organization reports that over 3.6% of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply, sanitation, and hygiene. As you can see from the picture some of the diseases that are within many of these people's water sources are Ecoli, Salmonella typhi, and Schistosoma.

As you can tell many people are at risk by just the tiniest bit of consumption of this horrid water. Take a moment to just look at the water that is held within the hands of this picture. Does this water look appetizing to you? Personally, I would say it is the least bit and that I would rather drink motor oil. If we as a group chipped in we would be able to not only provide clean water, but also cut the trek from three hours down to merely fifteen minutes.

It's only water

Christian music artist Brandon Heath wrote and performed a song entitled "Only Water." Within this song he illustrates a farmer in Nebraska struggling to get his crops to grow. If he can't get them to grow it would become a matter of life or death. That alone inspires me, but the following lines are what get me:

"And it washes over me

Like a single river stone

Changes everything 

But has no power on its own

It's only water"

Water symbolizes in most Christian's lives a remarkable transformation of death to life. This process is better known as baptism. Baptism is a declaration is someone's life to make a proclamation to the world that you have Christ living inside of you and you aren't afraid to share it. Water isn't just something that somebody just gets "dunked" under, but it can also be like the song states a matter of life or death. I don't mean a physical life or death, though this is true as well, but I mean water to be a spiritual life or death in this situation. By bringing a clean water source to poverty stricken areas around the world that wouldn't have it otherwise, we are sharing the gospel more than we can ever imagine. I think about the faces children, women and men alike would have if we weren't so foolish to try to merely share the gospel with people when we encroach on their territory, but actually go in there first with the purpose to try and make their lives better. In order to make sure someone truly grasps what you are talking about when it comes to the gospel you must first be willing to build a relationship with them. Not only do I love Brandon Heath's song "Only Water," but I also am a huge fan of one of his other songs entitled, "The Harvester." In this song he discusses how no matter how hard the going gets, we must continue to dig deeper and show some tenacity. My favorite lines are:

"For all that we've grown 

How could we forget

Those who don't know

Or just don't know yet

Let's harvest this field

From sunrise to sunset

The Master is coming 

We are not done yet"

As Christians, we have a tendency to just try and beat people over the head with God's word, when really all they want is a friendship. Also, many people in America have the misconception that people in other countries don't have some of the same luxuries as us, so they believe that they will have nothing to relate upon. This is where they would be wrong. Talk about kids, lifestyles, just take interest in what they have to say. 


Everyday is a new day and we can't give up on the great commission. There is always somebody out there that we can bring to Christ. I have included both songs if you are interested in hearing either in their entirety.