Mother's Day 2015 - #H2O4MOM

Lyla (8)

The mother of my children (and conveniently, my wife), Erin, posted this message on my Facebook timeline a few weeks ago:

"Since you asked what I wanted for Mother's Day -- this is it. Please donate to this cause. I can't imagine adding walking 15 miles a day to make sure the kids have water to my "to do" list. Please also explain to the kids the cause and why helping people who need it is a great gift."

Please take a second to click on that link and read the story posted by A Mighty Girl, which is an amazing and inspirational website in its own right, and then come back here. It's easy to skip clicking on the link and figure you get the idea, but please give it a read anyway. It won't take long.

Quinn (6)

It is so easy to focus on the difficulties we personally need to deal with on a day to day basis and forget just how much harder it could be and IS for so many other people in the world. Siabatou Sanneh is an amazing woman, but she is also a symbol for so many mothers who do whatever they can in very difficult circumstances to provide for their families.

 I took Erin's message to heart and immediately ordered all of the books listed on the post to go over them with my kids. We've started reading, but more than that, we've been talking. With four kids of very different ages and abilities, the conversations have varied. Lyla, the oldest, is well aware of the importance of giving back, as it is part of the Lyla Tov Monsters mission. Emmett, the youngest, isn't quite picking up the nuances.  Quinn and Tessa are clearly getting the idea to think about what we can do to help others. They are clearly focused on water now as Quinn mentioned getting baths to people who didn't have them and Tessa thought if people don't have potties, it's good to get them potties.

Tessa (3)

I tried to think of how to make this Mother's Day gift even more meaningful and impactful for Erin. While talking to Lyla about how we can help others who have less than us, she said, "we can encourage other people to help, too."  I had been thinking the exact same thing. Not only could I donate to this very worthy charity, Water for Africa, to help drill boreholes in Gambia to ease to lives of communities without easy access to water, but I could help other people learn about the situation and how they can help bring water to these communities and help spread the word.

Emmett (14 mos)

So here I am, dusting off the old blog to spread the message. If you are at all touched by the story of a mother in Gambia willing to walk 15 miles a day to bring water to her family, please give to help Water for Africa bring water to the communities that need it. Per their website, as of today, they have built 3 boreholes. That's a start, but let's get that number higher! Even if you don't have the ability to give financially, please get the word out by sharing this blog post, A Mighty Girl's Facebook post or a direct link to Water for Africa.  Use the hashtag #H2O4MOM to spread the message far and wide.

Happy Mother's Day, Moms!