Water - what a day without H20 teaches you

Pin It And then, it was time to head back to Zadar.  I bring my personal luggage carrier with me everywhere I go.  See below:

In Zadar, we spent our last day full of sunscreen, sweat, sea salt and sand (yes, we found a sandy-ish beach in Croatia), only to return home to an apartment with no running water.  Zip. Zero. Zilch.  We went to ask the apartment owner, he said "one more hour."  We decided we would wait an hour.  It wasn't too late yet.  One hour passed.  Still nothing.  I went down again.  Again "one more hour."  We decided we would wait one more hour.  After all, we could sorta see the sunset from our balcony.  Another hour passes. No water.

After a lot of complaining (mostly on my part, I am ashamed to say), Paul talked me into going to the city to get some dinner.  While I agreed, I was more than a little peeved.  Thankfully I had my grandma's bandana thing to cover my greasy mop.  I am not one of those lucky girls who gets pretty sun-kissed beachy waves after a day out.

Still, it was our last night of vacation and all I wanted was a shower before going into the city, I continued.  Was this too much to ask?    

These were my arguments.  Perfectly logical at the time. 

But, so petty now.

When my complaining got out of control, Paul knocked some sense into me (not literally).  My vanity issue seemed to me like a basic need, until I thought about how many people in the world that don't even have access to clean water.  In fact more than 1 billion of the world's population does not have access to clean water.  According to water.org more than 3.575 Million people die each year from a water related disease.  And maybe the most disturbing statistic of all is every 20 seconds a child dies from a water related illness (which is down from every 15 seconds, 2 years ago). 

Source: water.org

Here, I was crying about not being able to take a shower.  Pathetic.  The water never did come on.  Upon our checkout, I bargained with the apartment owner and got a small discount.  It wasn't much, but the money is already being put to work to get water to someone who truly needs it.  Where it actually is a life or death situation.

When I got home, I started doing a little research.  The homepages of two charities I support both had headline articles about the lack of water in Sudan (oxfam.org & doctorswithoutborders.org/) .  The shortage of water is a crisis all around the world today.  The good news is, you can help.  It could be as simple as liking a facebook page or sharing a link via social media.  And if you can, make a donation or get involved.  For more facts on the world's water shortage or how to help visit water.org.

Why not join the 4 mile Walk for Water this Labor Day Weekend?  You are probably getting together with your friends and family, so make an event of it and take a photo!
 

Need to buy a gift for the person who has everything?  Give the gift of water to someone in need.

Water.org water bottle

Water.org gift of water

Oxfam America Unwrapped: Water Purifier  - Oxfam has other gifts you can give, too.  Maybe a goat, books for kids, or a pile of manure is more your gifting style.  I know I would love to receive a cow... (hint, hint) but that's just me.  

All dirty waiting for our flight.  Thankful for the bandana and even more thankful for my new outlook. 

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