The 48 HR Water Challenge
An open letter of appreciation to Steve Herbert, Secretary of the Water for Humanity Committee, past and present committee members for their time and energy to provide a conduit for improving the water supply conditions in underdeveloped parts of the world.
HOW LUCKY WE ARE!!!
Just received the winter issue and as usual, the first article I read was your Water for Humanity Fund News Update. As a retired Easton, PA, water supply worker and AWWA member, my heart goes out to people in underdeveloped countries that must do without safe drinking water for their normal requirements.
During our many water breaks or water system upgrades, we had to turn the water off for emergency repairs. This in turn would immediately draw the ire of the residents involved. All I would hear was “What am I going to do without water? I have kids, they have to use the bathroom, I have to take a shower before I go to work, I have people over for dinner and I need water to cook.”
Reading your many WFH News updates referring to the deplorable water supplies in this world made me think “Can I do without clean running water for 48 hours, not the lifetime so many people of the isolated villages must endure.
I decided to make a test and see if I could not only live without running water but reward myself if I could survive.
THE 48 HOUR TEST REQUIREMENTS ARE:
1 – Before the test, draw 5 gallons of water per person per day. This will be used for essential uses; drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, and sanitary facilities.
2 – Turn off the running water in your house.
3 – Have available the required number of 5 gallon buckets to hold for water test. The disinfection of buckets is optional.
4 – Five gallons of water is my estimate of the maximum amount of water (35 lbs) I would be willing to carry on my head from any distant water source to my village. That distance in miles will vary.
5 – If you are lucky, have some nearby source of water, such as a spring or stream, for non-essential water use.
6 – Be prepared to haul water from the nearby source to wash the car, water the lawn, trees and garden. These items are considered non-essential and extra work will be required.
7 – One Job-Johnnie…delivered.
8 – A $100 dollar check to use for a nice dinner as a reward for completing the test.
9 – Know the location of the main house water valve or switch to turn off the water pump.
After turning off the main house water valve, I walked through to check if the water was really off. It was. I then decided to sit down and reflect on the deed I just performed and what clean, flowing water supplies meant for me.
1 – Kitchen sink to wash dishes and water for cooking.
2 – Bathroom sink – personal hygiene.
3 – Water closet – sanitary facilities.
4 – Washing machine – clean clothes.
5 – Water heater – hot water.
6 – Furnace – heat for house.
7 – Ice machine – ice water and other cold drinks.
8 – Outside spigot – water for lawn, trees and garden. Wash auto & family dog. |
click here to download a pdf printable copy of " THE 48 HOUR TEST CHALLENGE "
Wow!! What a list. I had forgotten some of the many uses for water in my house. Without it, I could be living in an isolated village hauling dirty water vessels on my head for miles, with waterborne diseases in all water sources.
I ran and turned the water supply valve back on, knowing I couldn't’t even start the test. I didn't’t want to try to live without the convenience of good water. I gave up the test. How lucky I am!!! I have all the necessary water requirements at my finger tips to use any way I want.
Enclosed is my $100 check to the WFH Fund because I didn't’t finish the test. I realize its not a lot of money, but I imagine the multiplication factor using the total ASD Society membership number in giving.
Please put that money to good use, some village may need a little help for a new water well. I only wish I could sponsor the entire cost of the new well system. Imagine that…Then I would have a very special footprint in this world after I leave.
submitted by Jim Harvey, 59151 Overseas Hwy. Lot 20, Marathon, FL 33050 email: riverrat97@juno.com
JUST A FURTHER THOUGHT ABOUT THE TEST
Make up your own improved version of the test and give it to someone you know. Challenge your friends to give it a try. See how many $100 checks you may get from them for the ASD Water for Humanity Fund.
Challenge the Digest readers, International and local club members. This may renew our awareness of the need for clean drinking water and the unsanitary conditions some of the under-privileged people in this world must endure.
Tell us the many projects the WFH Fund has underwritten along with the cost and the resulting benefits at the completion of the project. How many more grant applications for water improvements were received and not granted because no funds were available?
We have all used dowsing for one reason or another. Some for profit, some to solve life’s daily questions and others for anything we want to help with. We belong to the ASD Society and want it to accomplish bigger and better things through dowsing.
Challenge us as caring members of the developed world, to help those who have less. We can and will share our blessings with others, it will add up to something special.
HOW LUCKY WE ARE!!! |
