I’ve struggled with how to put in words my recent trip to Ethiopia. It’s impossible to do justice to all the sights, smells, sounds, and stories. Here’s just one glimpse of what I experienced…
I drank five glasses of water today. The glass I drank out of was washed in a dishwasher . I also enjoyed a long hot shower this morning. I might have to take another one if I exercise tonight. I also used the toilet a few times today—and flushed it of course! I brushed my teeth after breakfast—and I will brush them again before bed. The outfit I am wearing is clean—because my wife used a washing machine. My 7 month old son Rett will be squeaky clean as soon as he takes his daily bath. I’m a ‘germophobe’—so I washed my hands at least 5 times today. There are some plants in our house—they need a good drink every now and then. Our neighbor boys love a good squirt gun battle. And this might be the day I have to shave—which doesn’t say much to those who know me—but you get the point.
Water is life and life is water. Our bodies are estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water, and our muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water. Our body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all our organs. Water also transports oxygen to our cells, removes waste, and protects our joints and organs.
A mother and 12yr old daughter hike at least 4 miles a day to scrape water from a rain-fed pond. This is the water that animals poop in. This is the water they use for drink, cooking, and washing. They walk back to their family with up to 60lbs on their back—by themselves—exposed to the sun and to abduction, even rape.
This consumes enormous calories for the little girl, and her consumption of calories is not enough. The little girl loses stature. Her bony pelvis is small. If she is raped, her body is not ready to carry a baby. Fistulas are holes that develop in the tissue. In the United States, this condition could be avoided by cesarean section, but in many developing countries, poverty prevents women from getting proper treatment. Untreated, the fistula causes a constant stream of urine, and sometimes feces, to drip, leaving a trail and odor wherever these young mothers go. In Ethiopia, thousands of young girls suffer from this devastating condition. She is sent into the bush to deliver her baby, but after seven long and difficult days in labor, her baby is stillborn. The internal injuries are so severe they nearly cripple her.
After crawling back to her village, she is shunned by her baby’s father. He is so horrified by her smell that he confines her to a hut and leaves the door open so wild hyenas can devour her tiny body in the night. Unbelievably, she fights off the hyenas and crawls for a day to get to safety.
She was just trying to get water for her family.
I was able to visit the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia where this young girl received surgery and got back on her feet. It’s a slice of heaven with wards of gleaming, white walls and floors that reflect the light streaming through the windows. Rows and rows of small women lie in the beds. 25,000 women have been rescued in over 30 years time.
They don’t have to walk anywhere to get water. In fact, they can drink all the water they want.
We visited a place that builds wells. It’s called ‘Water for Life.’ Now that’s time ‘well’ spent.
Water is a gift.
Jesus said that ‘those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’
©2009 Fuller Youth Institute