You come in the house on a hot summer day. You are drenched of sweat and dying of thirst. You grab a glass from the cabinet, place under the faucet, then bring the cool, clear water to your lips. You also leave the water running. Later, you jump in the shower, wash up, and stand there, letting the water hit you for over an hour. After you nice rinse, you decide to brush your teeth. You leave that faucet on as well. Did you ever stop to think there is a person in the world that has no water? You are letting precious H2O run down the drain when there is a child out there that will die because of the lack of clean, available water?
My family and I have been volunteering for EDGE Outreach Ministry for over a year now. Their mission came to our attention not long after the disastrous earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010. My dad was inspired by their mission to provide clean, safe water. He collected new and old shoes that could be recycled or exported to developing countries. Not only did the shoes provide jobs for people around the world, they also protected people's feet from diseases and infections, AND provided funding for the water purification projects.
At first, I thought my dad was going a little overboard. I was happy he was helping people and had a hobby, but that's all he'd talk about. I never realized how big of a difference he was making until I started reading about what was going on in Haiti and what EDGE Outreach was doing to help. On Dad's first trip to EDGE, he took a truck load full of shoes! He figured his part in the project was over, but when he got home, there were 400 lbs of shoes Mom brought home! I guess God had other plans.
When I went back to Northern Kentucky University, I brought up the idea of hosting a shoe drive on campus as well as the Northern Kentucky Community to the Baptist Campus Ministry Leadership Team. Ironically, Katie (the associate campus minister) and Bayley (a forever LT member) went on a mission trip to Haiti with EDGE Outreach over the summer. They saw first hand how the water purification systems helped others first had and knew how important shoes are to the people and water projects. Our goal was to raise 1,000 lbs of shoes by Christmas break. When my dad brought the truck to the BCM to pick up the shoes, we loaded over 5,300 LBS! I couldn't believe it! I truly felt that we made a difference in someone else's life.
Like my Dad, I assumed my part in the project was over. Also like my Dad, I couldn't be more wrong. Dee Dee Hurt (The Shoe Lady) called me over spring break and asked if I'd like to spend some of my summer helping EDGE. I totally jumped on that offer! I've been out of school for a couple of months and I have to say, working for EDGE has been fun, challenging, inspirational, exciting, and humbling for me. I never know what I'm going to do! One minute I'll be answering phones, later I'll be in the warehouse sorting shoes that need exporting. Next I'll be organizing the supply closet, and then I'll be organizing paper work for a team that will set up water purifiers in Costa Rica. Over the weekend, two of my colleagues and I got to speak at Riverfest, an annual concert whose proceeds go to EDGE, about what I do and the importance of shoes!
I never realized how much I had until now. I have clean water to drink, wash my clothes, and body. I don't have to walk six miles to bring water to my family. I don't have to worry about the bacteria and diseases I'll get from drinking contaminated water. I don't have to fear that my child will die because they have to drink filthy water or dehydrate. I'm sure some of my readers agree with me. However, most of the world cannot. Next time you leave the water running while you brush your teeth or stand in the shower for over an hour, remember that 80% of all sickness in the world is due to bad water. Over 5,000 children die every day and 90% is because of contaminated water. Also remember YOU can save these lives by doing something as simple as donate a pair of old shoes.
Bayley, Dee Dee, and Katie at NKU
The Holden Family and a garage full of shoes
BCM members after loading the shoes
Nathan, Natalie, and I speaking at Riverfest
I'm always amazed by how generous and selfless you and your parents are. I have a feeling some of that comes from Granny and Grandad! Just earlier today I felt really thirsty and as I was filling up my glass at the sink, I actually thought to myself, "this is so easy. I can't imagine what it must be like to not be able to get clean, cold water this easily."
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