WhatGives!? Do Something Good…

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Hello friends,

I have signed up to participate in the Clean Water Blogivation campaign. If my blog receives the most votes (vote at the top of this post!), I will win an opportunity to join Dr. Greg Allgood on a clean water expedition to Africa and a $15,000 donation to my favorite charity tackling water issues.  While brainstorming about what to include in this post, I went in a million different directions.  First, I thought about trying to be funny to get people to vote for me.  But the truth is, the only times I’m really humorous is when it’s in spite of myself.  Then, I considered composing poetic odes about human development and the importance of living in one economy.  But let’s face it, there’s only one Bono.  So in the end, I decided to dig deep into the corners of my heart and mind and write about the exact moment instigating social change became a part of me.

Here it goes…

“You must not really know who you are,” was a statement I heard often growing up whenever people found out that not unlike thousands of Korean children, I was orphaned at birth and adopted a few months after being abandoned on the police station steps in Seoul, Korea.  Years ago, someone told me he felt bad that I’d been thrown such a “curve ball” in life by being an “accident” and not having any known biological relatives in sight.  Vividly, I remember feeling the dilation of my heart and all of my insecurities, hopes, and dreams pouring onto my sleeve.  I sat up, smiled, and said adamantly, “if being adopted and raised by the most generous people I know is a curve ball then I’m knocking it straight out of the park.”

When I see photographs of children in developing countries, I ponder what my life would have been like had I not been adopted.  My being here, here and now, and not roaming the streets of Korea or ending up as a sex trafficking tragedy, is more than a coincidence.  It’s a miracle.  The longer I live the more certain I am that I was put on this planet to help those who need compassion, care, and a call to action to help them help themselves.  Every day that I write a feature about a new venture making social responsibility a top priority…

… or I interview an icon making a difference in this world…

… or I stumble upon young activists rallying for change…

… or I spotlight the intersection between celebrities, brands, and cause…

… or I meet an incomparable musician and humanitarian like my hero Michael Franti, who’s an ambassador for CARE, a Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) partner of P&G, I move forward to bring attention to miracles that are too often overlooked.

Okay, so it is “all of our world” as Michael says.  But at the heart of any home, there lives a great woman.  For this reason, the women who are mothers and nurturers in impoverished nations must be equipped with the proper resources.  They need economic opportunities (like the kind I’ve been given by being a product of adoption).  For the love of all that is good and sound in this world, they need an education and clean drinking water, as do all the members of their community!

Two years ago, I met an inspiring couple devoted to providing all the aforementioned necessities to those in need.  John and Stacey Travis, founders of the LA-based clean water initiative Drop in the Bucket, laser their energy and fire into empowering and educating people in post conflict regions of southern Sudan and northern Uganda, areas decimated by more than two decades of war.  In these parts, where there is very little infrastructure, a lack of clean water can literally mean the difference between life and death.  Drop in the Bucket focuses on well construction at schools because the group has found that school enrollment increases dramatically once the facility has a safe source of clean water.  The volunteer-based organization is currently setting up village savings and loans initiatives that lend money to women so that they can have a chance to make money and empower themselves.

When I met John and Stacey they had recently returned from a trip in Africa, and they were in the early stages of getting Drop in the Bucket off the ground.  After running into John at various social good events during the last year, I decided it was time for us to come full circle and for me to get some insight from him about his clean water crusade.

“We insist that women be represented with key positions on the water committees that we set up to manage the wells,” said John.  ”Women in Africa raise the children and do the majority of the work, but for these regions to catch up with the rest of the world, women have to be allowed to get an education too.  Putting wells at schools allows the girls to not have to spend hours each day fetching water for the family while the boys get to go to school.  A well at a school means that the girls can now go to school.  This part of our program is something that we feel could have the most long term affect.  Drop in the Bucket is committed to doing everything we can to help women get an equal education in the areas where we work.”

So many people say that going to Africa is life-changing.  If finally visiting the land I’ve written about and wanted to experience, means the chance to be completely outside of myself, and to learn what it means to be as dedicated to a cause as John and Stacey, sign me up!   Today, I begin my quest to win $15,000 to give to Drop in the Bucket, and to participate as a change agent on a clean water expedition to Africa.  Storytelling is my job, and my passion for social action swims through my veins in the deep end. Today, it’s not just about documenting miracles; it’s about making miracles happen.

I appreciate your support.

[Limit one vote per person/email address per day.  A voter may only use one email address to vote.  The blogger with the most eligible votes as of 11:59:59 PM ET on 8/27/10 will win the Grand Prize, subject to verification of eligibility.]

Photos by Drop in the Bucket

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Tags: CARE, Causecast, Changents, CSR, Drop in the Bucket, Invisible Children, John Travis, Jon Bon Jovi, Kristen Bell, Mashable, Michael Franti, P&G, Stacey Travis