Month: January 2016

Aside from air, water is the most basic necessity human beings can have. Being made up mostly of water, we require a constant stream of the life-giving fluid in order to stay healthy and develop as we should. A clean water project team can help in many ways. One member of our team was from Boerne, Texas and was sponsored by a local carpet cleaning company.

It’s quite a tragedy, then, that so many people around the world dream of having clean water even in this advanced day and age. Many of these limitations are geological – while over 70% of our planet is water, not all of it is clean, and some are unfortunate enough to live in very ‘dry’ places with minimal water sources.

Still, there are things you can do to help these people get the most basic life necessity. One of these (and perhaps the most efficient one) is getting involved in a 3rd world clean water project that helps quench the thirsts of many.

Donations and sponsorship

Thanks to the way our society works, we’re able to help people in far-out places of the Earth without ever leaving the comfort of our own homes. One of the best ways of accomplishing this is by making a donation to one of the many water-building projects, such as those focusing on building wells, water systems and rain traps in Africa.

The more you can donate, the better, although every donation will help bring water to someone’s lips – as insignificant as a donation of $10 might seem, it’s an important cog in the engine. Every thousand such donations means another village with access to clean water and, as a result, greatly improved health of its residents.

If you enjoy somewhat larger means, you can directly sponsor a project to bring water to a village or even a smaller town. Since you’ll be the sole benefactor of this project, you’ll probably be looking at costs that amount to tens of thousands of dollars, although the money will be paid back multifold in gratitude by the people whose lives you made better. After all, what’s more empowering than knowing you were the biggest driving force behind giving water to hundreds of people?

A more hands-on approach – doing the building yourself

If you’re truly burning with the urge to help and feel as if a donation doesn’t do enough (or if you aren’t able to make one of satisfactory magnitude), consider being part of a project that builds the aforementioned water-delivering and storing infrastructures.

Becoming one of these helpers is far from being the most difficult aspect of the whole thing. There are dozens of clean water organizations around the world, and each of them is strapped for volunteers and would like nothing more than to add a pair of able and willing hands to the fold. Simply reach out to a few and express your wishes and what you can offer them – most of the replies will likely be a variation of “How soon can you start?”

The toughest part will be leaving the comforts of your life to go to a less-fortunate region and witnessing the hardships that its people endure on a daily basis. For many, taking a significant break from their everyday life (career, friends, family, relationships) will be too much despite the positive impact it would have. If you belong to the other group – the group willing to make the sacrifices in order to help – you’ll enjoy the feeling of knowing your own hands built something that delivers clean water to people and lets them lead a healthy and balanced existence.

Have you dealt with an urge to help others in need for most of your life? These days, there are more opportunities to do so than ever, and you’re able to choose the group of people that calls out to you the most.

The world can seem like a very unfair place, and not all of us were born with the same opportunities and same palette of choices to make. Still, there are ways to make it right for people whose voices aren’t heard nearly as often – by helping improve their quality of life however we can.

As much as we love it, few can argue that Mexico isn’t a polarized country. On one hand, you have affluent neighborhoods, lively festivals full of people rejoicing, a strong industry, amazing beaches… On the other, you have extreme poverty and people struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis, often living in conditions that no human should be living in.

If you’d like to help these people have a better life, there are many ways to do so, but none of them are as direct and powerful as participating in a humanitarian mission trip to Mexico.

Taking part in such a mission – what to know

If you’re going to Mexico with the intention of helping, don’t expect to be spared from any of the hardships that its people experience. If you grew up in a well-off area, you’ll probably be shocked by the conditions found in many humanitarian trip destinations.

This initial shock proves overwhelming for quite a few people and they end up going back to their homes without having done much at all, preferring not to think about what they saw instead. This is fine, but in your case, make sure you won’t get overwhelmed by what you see, hear, smell and feel during your trip – if you do, you’ll just end up disappointing yourself as well as those you were trying to help.

The ways to help during a humanitarian trip

Many of these trips revolve around meeting people’s basic needs, and there are very few needs more basic than having a good roof over your head. Hence, there’s a good chance you’ll be tasked with helping build someone’s home, be it through restoration or from the ground up. You’ll have to get down and dirty for this, and you’ll probably be working long hours exposed to the Sun’s peak level, but it’ll all be worth it – every brick you lay will work towards securing a better future for someone.

Another common way of helping is by providing medical treatments to some of Mexico’s less fortunate residents. Some of these treatments will center around providing much-needed medicine to those with no real way of getting it as well as treating chronic and severe conditions. Others might include help over issues that aren’t as urgent but are every bit as important – ear-nose-throat and ophthalmologic check-ups, blood tests, chiropractic and skin treatments and much more.

Regardless of what your role in the mission ultimately proves to be, your contribution will likely be felt for generations to come and you’ll enjoy that rare feeling of being absolutely certain you did the right thing.