Meet Judith, WHOlives Ambassador Extraordinaire

When Judith Lambertson traveled to Tanzania earlier this year she thought she'd return home with some fun memories, a camera full of safari photos and great inspiration for her paintings. When she began interacting with members of a local Maasai tribe, however, the focus of her trip shifted completely. As she learned more about the devastating impact of scarce and contaminated water sources, Judith knew she had to do something. Read more below about Judith and how she's managed to raise over $1000 in just a few months.

Judith had always dreamed of going on an African safari. “I expected it would be about seeing the animals,” she explains, “But it turned out to be so much more.” While in Tanzania, Judith visited a rural school, attended almost entirely by children from the local Maasai tribe. Each member of her group was assigned a child to shadow for the day. “At first I thought she was a little boy,” Judith laughs, “Her hair was shaved so short! There weren’t many girls at all in the class, just a few.” Judith spent the morning sitting with this little girl. “She was so sweet,” Judith remembers, “And all the kids absolutely loved school.” Judith was impressed with how neat the girl’s notes were, “She was a good little student. She had check marks and “Nzuri” (good) written everywhere.” Judith quickly realized, however, that this little girl did not want to smile. Her teeth were rotten and brown and she was ashamed to let others see them. And she wasn’t the only one. Almost all of the students had rotting teeth.

Deeply touched by the students and teachers, Judith asked her guide, a member of the Maasai tribe himself, why so many of the Maasai people she’d met, including the guide himself, had rotting teeth. He explained it was a side effect of the contaminated water they were forced to drink every day. “There were no other options for them,” Judith explained. Their nearest water source was likely a small pond or waterhole several miles away. There were so few girls in the class because most of the girls in the community spent hours every day fetching contaminated water with their mothers.

Judith's "Water Carrier"

When Judith returned home to Connecticut she couldn’t forget the incredible struggle people faced in simply obtaining water. She wanted to learn more. “I didn’t know about the mortality and the water-borne diseases until I started to read about it,” Judith admits. “The more I learned, the more important it felt to do something. When I heard that babies die from water-borne diseases it made me want to be involved even more.” Motivated to make a difference, Judith began searching for a good organization to support. When she discovered WHOlives she liked that WHOlives focused on “more than just giving water” and felt our model “made a lot of sense.” After deciding to give a monthly donation, Judith still wanted to do more. “I really want to feel like I’m making something happen,” Judith explains, “I want to have a direct involvement.” With a deep desire to improve lives, Judith set a goal to raise enough money to fund a well, bringing clean water to a Maasai community in Tanzania.

Judith's "Maasai Warrior"

In just a few months, Judith has already made incredible progress towards her goal. Reaching out to friends and acquaintances, Judith shares her story and her passion for clean water with those around her. She actively invites others to donate along side her and help her in building a well for the Maasai people. She’s also put her artistic talent to good use. After returning home, Judith painted several watercolors inspired by her trip. Sharing the wonderful people she met and the various animals she saw while on safari, Judith uses her paintings to start conversations about the water crisis. She’s also had her paintings digitized and made into beautiful note cards which she sells at her art shows. She donates all the proceeds towards her well project with WHOlives.

”It’s not always easy,” Judith confesses, “I’ve never done this before and I’m not the kind of person who could ask people for anything.” When asked how she overcomes her fear, Judith explains, “The biggest thing is just opening my mouth.” Once she takes that first step, it’s not so scary anymore. She says it’s easiest to share her story with those she’s already comfortable with. She’s found many of her friends want to get involved simply because they care about her and they know clean water is important to her.

Judith feels wonderful every time someone decides to donate or buy her note cards. “I’m always so happy and proud,” she says, “It makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.” Judith often gets emotional when she talks about the little schoolgirl she met and her struggle for clean water. For Judith, raising money for clean water is a way to help make the world a better place for women and children in need.

Judith's "Two Zebras"

If you’d like to become an ambassador for WHOlives or start your own water project like Judith shoot us an email at rachel@wholives.org or give us a call at 888-67-LIVES (888-675-4837). You can also contact us if you’re interested in purchasing one of Judith’s paintings or ordering a set of her beautiful cards. To see more of Judith’s artwork please visit judithlambertson.com

To help Judith reach her goal to provide a well to a Maasai community, visit www.wholives.org/donate.php and select your desired giving level and frequency (one-time or monthly). Be sure to enter “Judith” as the WIN number so we know to direct your donation towards her well project. For monthly donations, WIN numbers can be entered directly on the WHOlives donation page. With one-time donations, the option to add a WIN number appears on PayPal’s donation confirmation page.

$4 can change a life

Visit WHOlives.org today

Why Water Matters: Health

Here at WHOlives we talk a lot about water and it's ability to create change. But in a country where we use more water in the first two minutes of our morning shower than hundreds of millions of families use in an entire day it can be hard to imagine life without clean water. Over the next few days and weeks, we'll be exploring the impacts of life without clean water through a blog post series entitled, "Why Water Matters." As a part of this series we'll be discussing the ways in which water impacts health, education, women and girls, and economic opportunity. We hope to establish an open dialogue about water through these blog posts and encourage your questions, comments and suggestions along the way.

To kick the series off we thought we'd start with the most obvious impact of scarce and contaminated water: Health

It's summer time.  If you're like me you probably find yourself constantly drinking water in a vain attempt to keep yourself hydrated. In the US we find our water from many different sources -- some people drink water from the tap, some prefer bottled water. Some have water dispensers installed in their fridges while others buy filtering pitchers. Whatever your method of obtaining water, you're probably never far from an abundant supply of fresh clean water. 

Not everyone is as lucky as we are. More than 783 million people throughout the world lack access to clean water. That means one in ten people rely on water sources that are scarce,

In communities with scarce water sources women and children walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to fetch water

contaminated

A child dies every 21 seconds due to water-related diseases contracted by drinking contaminated water

Or even both

While we simply have to walk over to the sink, millions of women and children walk miles every day to find water from sources like swamps, rivers and waterholes, unprotected from animals and natural elements. This water is almost always contaminated, acting as a breeding ground for frightening parasites and diseases that cause illnesses like diarrhea, malaria, dysentery, schistosomiasis and trachoma. With no other choice, the unsafe water is scooped into their bucket and carried home to their families. The few gallons the women and children are able to bring home must be carefully rationed for cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, bathing, watering plants and of course -- drinking. 

According to the UN, more people die every year as a result of unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.  Likewise, unsafe water is responsible for more annual deaths than HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB combined -- and about 90% of those dying are children. Because their bodies aren't yet strong enough to fight diseases like diarrhea, children are particularly vulnerable to contaminated water -- approximately every 21 seconds a mother loses a child to a water-related disease. Comprising as much as half of hospitalizations worldwide, water-related diseases put a large strain on already overburdened local health clinics. These high rates of illness cripple local economies, too, preventing millions of men and women from productive work and causing a loss of 443 million school days every year.

The good news is, we've got a solution. And it's a great one. We've designed a human-powered borehole drill called the Village Drill, capable installing clean water sources in even the most remote areas for a fraction of traditional costs.  Using this powerful new technology we can bring clean water to an entire community for as little as $4 a person. That means for less than the cost of a Big Mac or a latte from Starbucks we can change someone's life. Sounds a lot better than a greasy burger, doesn't it? 

And guess what? You can be a part of it, too. You can help keep children in their mothers' arms. You can put money back in families' pockets as they spend less on medicine. You can change lives. You can save lives. 

And it all starts with just one drop.

To learn more about how to get involved visit our website and read about our new Ripple Effect Movement. This is a great new giving program where people like you commit to give a little every month to help change a lot.

Headed Home

After a long three and a half weeks in Kenya our team is headed home. We had a great group.  In John Renouard's words, "Everyone was respectful, caring, tolerant and able to not only tease good-naturedly but also take some ribbing as well.  They all made it really fun. They worked hard and played hard too. They accomplished a lot and hopefully learned a lot too." Below are some pictures of their last couple of days in the field.  Thanks for a great expedition!

The team's last Kenyan sunset (this time around)

Visiting an orphanage in a slum in Nairobi

Founder John Renouard with Kenyan Member of Parliament and Boston Marathon winner Wesley Korir 

Kilifi's Pump and the Team's Safari

It's been a busy last couple days for the Expedition Team!  Check out Mariah's account of the Kilifi Pump Dedication and their safari adventures!

The past two days have been pretty action packed! Yesterday we had a rare morning off and were able to sleep in and spend some time down at the Indian ocean and relaxing by the pool. In the afternoon we headed to Kilifi to go back to where we were able to help drill the well. On the way there we were also able to stop by a different site where the Village Drill had started to drill another well. Once we arrived to Kilifi, the crowd was much bigger than the first time we had gone for drilling. We were all able to be there for the grand opening of their new well and we all pumped the well a few times and tasted the water that was coming out. Everyone was so excited to see the water. It was incredible.  Afterwards we hung out at the village for a while and watched some of the guys play soccer and handed out bread muffins and sweets. The kids basically swarmed us when the sweets came out. It was pretty intense. 

Now the people of Kilifi won't have to walk 6 miles every day for water -- they can pump it from their own village!

WHOlives Founder John Renouard with Kilifi's new pump

Today, Thursday, we woke up early and headed to the safari! The first animal that we saw was an ostrich. It was pretty far off but it was still pretty exciting. Also on our way to the hotel we saw some zebras,  warthogs, giraffes, monkeys, baboons, elephants, and we were even lucky enough to see a Cheetah!! It was only about 20 feet off the road. It was funny to watch the zebras run across the road because when they walk or run they bob their heads like a little bobble head toy. 

We then checked into the hotel, ate lunch and we were able to watch elephants at the watering hole from the dining area. There was one little baby elephant that was probably less than a month old. There was also a water buffalo down there rolling around in the mud like a puppy. After we ate we were able to walk down to a viewing area that puts you about 15 feet from the elephants and the watering hole. It was super crazy being so close to such a large animal. At one point an elephant was looking right at us and threw its trunk towards us. It scared us pretty badly.

After lunch we headed back out in the safari van and were able to see lions! There were three females sitting about 40 feet from the road sleeping. We spent the next two hours or so watching more elephants, zebras, and water buffalos and many other birds and animals. On our way back to the hotel we saw the same group of lions again but instead of just sleeping they were up and walking around, which was cool. Finally, after dinner we walked back down to the elephant viewing area and saw a few more elephants at night.  Now we are back up watching a movie and getting ready for bed! Can't believe we have less than a week left! It has been awesome.

Mariah

**********UPDATE**********

Safari Pictures!

Sunrise, Sunrise

The expedition group with the staff and children from Sunrise Education Children Center

This field update comes from WHOlives founder and president, John Renouard.  He shares the group's experience visiting East Africa's largest open air market and a small orphanage in Nairobi.

We have crossed into our last week here in Kenya. I'll be honest, it's hard to put into words the experiences we have had.  This week has been less taxing from the grind of the Village experience but everyday we see and do something new and amazing.  

I hope everyone will find a way to look at the pictures we have taken, available in full on our Facebook page, so they can see a little into the experiences we're having. Even the mundane, like going to a grocery store, is intriguing. But then we experienced the very crowded and right on the edge of our comfort zone visit to the open market, the largest in Eastern Africa.  There are not a of visitors to the market so the introduction of eight outsiders garners a lot of attention.  Like in any society, we received a variety of responses to our intrusion to their daily lives, some very pleasant and others bordering on anger.  After our visit we chatted a bit about the experience and drew some conclusions to what it might have been like in other eras where the presence of outsiders was not always warm and many times extremely hostile and unfair. 

Our visit today to a small orphanage did much to build our faith in the future of Kenya.  We visited with 20 of the most well mannered, grateful and cheerful children you could ever imagine.  They would sing at the top of their lungs and share their "sweets" with each other.  As each of our trekkers finished teaching them a cool science project they would break into this cool little jingle, thanking the "teacher" for doing such a good job. It was very cool.

Tomorrow will be a banner day. We are returning to the school in Kilifi where we started drilling a well the first week we were here.  We will be dedicating to this village the first and only clean water source for 10 kilometers (or 6.2 miles)!   I'm not sure, even now after two weeks, that the Trekkers will totally grasp the impact our efforts will have on this community.  This well was made possible by an extremely generous gift from the Barker family from Washington State, along with some funds from the cost of this expedition that was donated to this project.

It truly is amazing to see the "Ripple Effect" so many people can make.  Thank you for all of your support. We love and appreciate you so much.

Thanks,

John

Founder John Renouard with the children from Sunrise Educational Child Center

Most of the children at Sunrise have lost one or both of their parents to HIV/AIDS.  They all had this poem memorized

Some of the sweet children at Sunrise.  They love to sing and laugh

Expedition team member Mariah brought a stethoscope with her to give the children the chance to listen to their heartbeat for the first time.  This little one can't get enough of it.

Jambo Bwana

Today the gang visited a local school in Dzendereni, tried their hand at washing their clothes by hand, visited a nearby waterhole and learned about Buruma tribal traditions.  Reagan Moss shares her experience.

Today, the whole group, along with our new physical training friends, headed over the dusty roads in our bumpy matatus (safari vans) to a school in a village called Dzendereni. Try saying that ten times fast! When we arrived, the entire school was outside the buildings to greet us. This included around 60-80 kids, big and small, all dressed in their school uniform. Of course, the youngest yelled "Jambo!" with as much gusto as they could, and the older children joined in, some vocally, others waving. We stepped out of the vans and they separated into three general age groups and sang us welcome songs and introduced themselves. The best performance was rewarded with sweets (the youngest got it, because they're the cutest of course). Then we met the school's Chairman, and he introduced us to the rest of the staff and showed us the classrooms. He told us about how the schools started out, with just a few supportive parents, mud and sticks. Now they have several well built classrooms, teachers, supplies, and boarding! The progress in two years for the school is really inspiring! Two in our group gave short science lessons and sang with the kids, and of course, gave them all candy. Then we helped with the construction of two new classes, mixing cement, water, and gravel, loading heavy grey bricks into wheel barrows, and practicing our water balancing tecniques. After all the hard work, we took the long drive home to have a late lunch. After that, the group relaxed and washed our clothes- two buckets with soap and water with lots of scrubbing. John then commandeered the safari van (some of us weren't too sure about this...) and took us to the water hole/river to see the water condition and take pictures. When we got back to Koins for Kenya's compound, our home for the week, our friend and guide, Buffalo, was ready to teach us about the local Duruma tribal traditions. From marriages to burial and deaths and becoming a man, it was a pretty interesting lesson. The traditions are an extremely important foundation to African societies. All in all, its been a successful day, and it marked a full week of an incredible trip!

Students in one of Dezenderei School's original classrooms

Mariah practicing her balancing skills

Lending a hand in constructing a new classroom

Washing clothes by hand

Visit to the Water Hole

Fetching water

Taking a swim

Mama knows best

Yesterday our team spent the day shadowing women or "mamas" in the village.  WHOlives founder and president John Renouard shares his account of the experience.

One of the goals we have for our expedition is to do an immersion experience so we can "feel" what the daily life is like here in rural Africa, instead of simply observing it.  We asked if we could do a full 16 hour day immersion starting at 4am, but we were told that it would be too difficult.  My competitive spirit wanted to take the challenge but the village Mamas were not giving in. It was a good thing too.  The Mamas knew what they were talking about. Almost from birth they have been doing these tasks daily, it was foolish of me to think that we could keep up with them for even part of one day. After about six hours of fetching water, cutting firewood, preparing the meals and caring for the little ones we were done, exhausted, worn out and humbled. 

We arrived back at camp and most of us just collapsed and took a short nap, but the day was not yet done. Dinner still needed to be prepared.  When they suggested chicken we all lit up -- that sounded great because we have not really had much protein since arriving at the camp. What we didn't expect was that we were still "on the clock" so preparing dinner was on us, which included of course, choosing our meal as you would pick a lobster from the seafood tank.  

After finding the perfect "meal" we chased him down and then of course, unless we wanted to eat a live chicken we needed to butcher and clean it.  We posted a couple of pictures of our meal after giving his life for our sustenance not realizing that the pictures would be rather graphic to someone not involved in the meal.  But amazingly this experience actually gives you more reverence and we now take our meals much less for granted, understanding that food is precious and should not be wasted or taken for granted.

A picture is worth a thousand words -- and we've got lots of them!

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?  Well, we hope you enjoy these pictures from the field.

4th of July

Future photographers

Mariah giving a friend a ride 

Reagan with some new friends

Ty,  Candise and Kaylie

July 5th:

Mariah milking a goat

Kaylie milking a goat

Learning to cook the Kenyan way

Bringing baby blankets to a local health clinic

A new mother with her precious baby

July 6th:

Candise and Kaylie help drill a well in Kalifi

Jake and Ky lend a hand

Jake G with a new friend

Local school children

 July 7th:

The whole team

Mariah and the waves

Ty posing for the camera

Ky has a lot of fun playing with the local kids

The group went to visit a local artisan village.  Pretty cool stuff