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"I don't want people coming to me, or the group, as some sort of God substitute or guru-like goons because I can look at myself in the mirror and just laugh." -- Bono |
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"I don't want people coming to me, or the group, as some sort of God substitute or guru-like goons because I can look at myself in the mirror and just laugh." -- Bono |
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Changing Lives With Liquid Gold
@U2,
April 19, 2004
"If everyone gets together, this idea of bringing water to Africa is not far-fetched. It's possible, and we can do it right now. I tell you, it will revolutionize that continent."The revolution is on. U2 fans are changing lives -- their own, and thousands of others -- by building wells in Africa. The impact of a well or spring is immediate and profound. Safe, clean water changes, and possibly saves, lives. It gives whole communities hope. To date, U2 fans worldwide have funded the creation of 16 wells and springs in Uganda and Ethiopia. We have made the lives of 11,000 people better because we donated the price of a tour T-shirt, or a ticket into the heart. The impact on those who give is equally powerful. "When I heard that we'd built not just one or two wells last year, but over a dozen, I was astounded and moved to tears," said U2 fan Bonnie Quigg, who responded to last year's "Build a Well for Bono's Birthday" appeal by the African Well Fund with a check of her own and a matching gift from her employer. "I've never experienced such a feeling of well-being and peace with any business success as I did in doing this simple thing. It was an emotional and spiritual high that I'll never forget." Donor Lynn Edelstein said, "It's a wonderful feeling to know that however small my contribution may be, it has helped someone...it makes me feel good to know that I can make a difference....I can thank the members of U2 like always for helping me stay on top of important issues in the world." "The way people have reached out and donated has simply floored me," said African Well Fund board member Julie Cook. "It's brought my faith back in humanity and that is something I am forever grateful for." AWF raised more than $10,000 for Bono's birthday last year, and this year's goal is $15,000. In total, as of March 2004, AWF has raised more than $28,000, which Africare, AWF's partner organization, has used to fund the wells and springs. "I am personally amazed by the initiative of the African Well Fund," said Jacqueline Johnson, Program Manager for Africare. "Their impact has been great, and they've impressed a lot of us here." Marty Bond, Africare's Director of Development, agreed: "The AWF project took off in such a big way because of the human spirit and commitment." High praise from the staff of this eminent organization -- recognized as a leader for more than 30 years in providing help to Africa -- for a group of U2 fans who watched MTV's coverage of Bono's trip to Africa and wondered what they could do to help. (More about how the group came together in this article by @U2's Angela Pancella). AWF members have taken their commitment a step further by doing the work necessary to register as a non-profit corporation -- a serious investment of time and energy, but necessary if AWF is to continue and expand its fundraising work. The founders are passionately determined to see the organization grow while maintaining its grassroots, volunteer-based identity. Board member Diane Yoder characterized AWF this way: "I can say, 'Hey guys, what do you think about this?' And immediately, we find a way to make it happen. It allows me to participate in a very hands-on way, something I find to be very rewarding." There are other rewards. For Cook, it's discovering that non-profit work is a life goal. For board member Elizabeth Beech, it's waking up "filled with a sense of purpose and excitement as to what each day will bring... My spiritual life has grown immensely, my commitment to my other volunteer efforts has strengthened, and my love for Africa has deepened as well." The fans who currently volunteer time for AWF "have a huge impact," said Cook. "They do fundraisers in their home towns, they send postcards to radio stations...they talk about us to their church.... They are inspirational. We need many more, though, and it's only an email away." Many kinds of involvement are possible. "If you've got the time and great ideas, we'd welcome that," said Cook. "I'd love to see other U2 fans planning this fundraiser next year. If you don't have the time, a donation is more than enough. Where would we be without donors? Who would be drinking clean water in Ngoma District, Uganda right now without the donors?" "Any gift is a big gift," concurs Africare's Bond. "Whether it's $7 from a child or $70 or $7,000, it's a gift -- it's connected to changing someone's life." How can you change a life by helping to build a well or spring? Bond and Johnson of Africare talked about why water is called "the liquid gold" in Africa. If you're reading this from, for example, Chicago, you use on average 265 gallons of water per day. If you are a person in Africa, you use 4 to 9 gallons of water per day -- for drinking, cooking, watering your crops and livestock, and cleaning yourself and your clothes. If you are among the more than half of Africa's people who have no access to water, you walk to a water source. It's not unusual for you to walk two, three, or five miles to a place where every drop must be pulled up out of the earth, or scooped from a spring or river, at a weight of approximately 6 pounds per gallon. Then you must carry it -- 4 to 9 gallons, at 6 pounds per gallon, for two or three or five miles -- to your home. It takes on average 26 percent of your day -- every day -- to do this work. In many cases, the water source that you are working so hard to collect from is polluted: animals use the water upstream, the springs are muddied or foul, and water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and infectious hepatitis are a constant threat, killing 34,000 people a day worldwide -- 12 million people a year, including 2 million children. Possibly yours. Lack of access to water does damage beyond dehydration and illness. Water is essential for crops and livestock. Ethiopia, which will receive the benefit of this year's contributions to Bono's Birthday Fund, is in its third year of serious drought, and without water there is no food: the majority of the country's people are starving. There are also social consequences: women and girls are traditionally responsible for water collection, and this often takes girls away from school. In communities where HIV/AIDS has taken a toll, grandmothers and very young girls often must (literally) shoulder the burden of water collection. "We don't just build the well and leave the community," said Johnson. Africare involves local leaders and villagers, teaching the village to maintain the well and to be alert to signs of dehydration and water-borne disease. They educate the community about crop rotation and the cultivation of low-water crops. Because of this respectful and comprehensive approach, the community develops trust in the organization and willingness to undertake other projects such as women's literacy or nutrition. "It's a ripple effect," said Johnson. Said Bond, "It all goes back to water. It starts with something as simple as building a well, but it's helping to build a community." When we donate to help build a well or spring, we give people the gift of safety, health, food, time, hope and dignity. That's the change that U2 fans have helped make for 11,000 people to date. As Bono said in the message he sent to AWF last year after receiving news of the money raised in honor of his birthday: "(This) is the best gift I could have gotten on my birthday. Don't let anyone tell you this stuff is fringe...it's at the very centre of God's purpose for all of us." Respect for Bono is "the thread that linked everyone together," said Bond of building the relationship between Africare and AWF. "Bono is such a fabulous guy, so humble, and he impresses me as someone who doesn't make a commitment unless he intends to stand behind it. We know U2 fans are like that too." She describes the response from fans as "amazing," pointing to donations that come through AWF from all over the world, including Kite Publishing's donation of proceeds from their book U2 Elevate Me Here. This gift funded the development (digging, channeling and protection) of two springs in Ethiopia, serving 5,000 people who had been scooping contaminated water from the ground or taking water from a polluted river. Julie Cook read the final project report last week and "started to cry at my desk. I would be in the best mood of my life if I got this kind of report every day." What's next for Cook and the other members of the African Well Fund? Wrapping up this year's fundraising campaign for Bono's birthday (which runs through April 30, although AWF accepts donations year-round), and developing lesson plans for teachers and parents to help educate children about the importance of water. Africare will provide support to this effort. Said Bond, "Support for AWF comes very easily for us." Last year, she was able to meet AWF members who traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend Africare's major fundraising event of the year. The staff of Africare felt strongly connected with AWF. "It gave us chills," said Bond. "Ten brilliant, fantastic women from all over the country put this together." "I've been a U2 fan since I was 14," said Julie Cook. "I've always believed strongly that everyone on this planet should have basic human rights and their basic needs being met....I'm sure there are thousands of U2 fans out there like me who feel the same way....This is something we can touch, a way we can help. Any one of us can help this way." When you sing, you make people vulnerable to change in their lives. You make yourself vulnerable to change in your life. But in the end, you've got to become the change you want to see in the world. Resources: Donate to the fund for Bono's birthday, or learn more about the African Well Fund. http://www.africanwellfund.org Learn more about Africare's programs of comprehensive help to Africa. http://www.africare.org Find out why the World Health Organization urges nations to treat access to water as a basic human right. (PDF download) http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/en/rtwrev.pdf © @U2/Eskridge, 2004.
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