Originally published June 30, 2018
Making an impact, one drop at a time. I’ve seen some posts of late that talk about the alternatives to opening our borders and letting people in who are threatened by violence, poverty, or natural disaster. Some say we can’t possibly house the whole world—and that is true. We used to do some other things, like open our universities up to the brightest in the world so they could come learn and return home to use their knowledge to address the issues of their own country. Since 911, that has become a goal too far for many to reach. Oh, and while those students were in our universities, they contributed to our lead in technology, medicine, and science, as well as community based disciplines to build better societies.
This project—Charity Water—is a way to strengthen individuals, and families, to give them the health and incentive to protect and develop their own homes—and that way is to invest in their health and security where they live. The Gates Foundation gets this on a whole new level—so does this guy.
Now, I know some folks are going to say, “What about Flint?” Well, as it happens, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 (or WIIN), granted $100 million to Flint, Michigan in order to speed up the upgrades to their water system. (Please note this bill was passed in the previous administration). This grant was to be combined with $250 million that the state had already allocated. Here we are, 18 months later and still nothing is happening. It is the incompetence of the local authorities (many are under investigation for criminal negligence) that is making this story go on, even when the solution has been provided. This Washington Post Opinion article gives some of the details.
My point is that when we begin to care about how other people live, what resources they have available, and how we can help them do better, everyone benefits. Our Blue Marble is too small for competitive living, we have to help each other do better. I think this fellow is doing something worthy of support and with a model we can use in other areas to help others do better in the homes they know. There will always be migrants—as humans we’ve been at it for a very, very long time. There are, however, alternatives to this constant battle on open borders, immigration, migration, refugee camps, and perhaps even homelessness. I was struck by a meme I shared a few days ago: At some point we must stop grabbing folks out of the river and travel upstream to see why they fell in to begin with.
Check out the Charity Water video and see if you can help out.
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