I GreW up in rural Philippines in the 70s where we collected rain water in cisterns for drinking and dug up wells to water the plants... and had to deal with bird droppings from the roof... and the frog that hitched on the water pail!
So we constructed manual pumps and later on, deep wells with pipes' and had to deal with the taste of rust!
So we brought chlorinated water in plastic jars from the city until commercial water became available in our rural town. Eventually, there came the water dispensers'and the water filters'and the bottled mineral water.
When we migrated in the US in 2009, it was not only filtered or bottled water that we consumed, but also sparkling water.
When it came to water, it seemed there was always a need, a want, or a convenience.
When I heard of the Christmas for Water campaign for #GivingTuesday by the redemption Song Foundation in response to the need of the Batwa, an indigenous group pushed out of their ancestral forest homes, who had to walk hundreds of miles to get clean water and store in dirty containers' or get it from a river where animals and people washed and defecated... I remembered the water situation in my rural hometown.
That struck a cord.
I was deeply moved by the look in Beckham's eyes as he gazed into the camera of then-photo journalist/environmental scientist Wendee Nicole. Perhaps it was the same haunting look that evoked the same feeling in Wendee; it prodded her to create the non-profit community-based organization, redemption Song Foundation (RSF) in 2014 and pushed her to sell her home in Texas and live in Uganda.
Since then, RSF has made a significant impact in the lives of these marginalized indigenous peoples, providing education assistance through the scholarship program, food assistance through the soup kitchen, and livelihood assistance through the Artisan Coop, among others.
This inspired me to get more involved in RSF's #GivingTuesday campaign, giving my time through volunteer work in social media marketing and fundraising, my talent through writing and media publishing support, and my treasure through donation.
It was my way of giving back, because I know how it is not having free access to clean water. I have a desire to share what I now freely enjoy. It made me wonder whether Christ felt the same need to share His life of abundance after experiencing mankind's poverty. This #GivingTuesday experience made me look at Christmas in a much deeper way.
Review from #MyGivingStory