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Welcome
to the first installment of:
Give Back Goods - Mindful Monday Blog
Each month we will send you thoughtful information on the wonderful organizations & causes that you help support through your purchases at Give Back Goods.
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Mindful Monday Blog
February 4, 2019
- By Tara Dodson
I first learned about Give Back Goods when I was searching for eco-friendly and sustainable gifts for the holidays. In my pursuit, I came across a ceramic necklace, with a charm attached, and the words “Be Still” carved in. When giving my gift, I told my loved one that they should wear this with pride as a family in Africa will now have clean water for a week.
When I turn on my faucet I have to remind myself that not everyone can get clean water so easily. There are countries all over the world that still need fresh clean drinking water. Can you imagine not having fresh clean water whenever you want it? Here, in the United States where we have advanced water filtration and disposal systems, we take it for granted.
From the time you wake up, brush your teeth, make coffee, take a shower, flush the toilet, water the lawn...
The average American consumes 100 gallons per day, the highest rate of consumed water anywhere.
The United Nations estimates that the bare minimum for water consumption is 13 gallons a day.
A person in central Africa uses only about 5 gallons per day and it is not always clean and safe.
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Worldwide about 663 million people lack access to clean water and it is estimated that women and children spend 140 million hours each day collecting water.
To put this into perspective, in the Central African Republic (CAR) more than 4.7 million people have to walk at least an hour every day to collect their water from either a hole dug in the ground or from a river and then carry the water back to their village in a container that weighs over 44 pounds for another hour or more to take it back to their village.
Having to walk for hours every day to collect this water reduces the ability for these children and women to have time to be educated, promotes unsafe conditions (especially for girls & women), prevents them from working and making money, and decreases their time with their families.
Pathogenic micro-organisms that are found in this water can cause waterborne illnesses which are spread by either drinking the contaminated water, bathing in it or through the consumption of food that has been exposed to the water. These illnesses if left without medical attention can have devastating effects.
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is working hard to change water poverty in these communities.
Water For Good has set a goal
“to end water poverty for every man, woman, and child by 2030.”
Thanks to Water For Good over ½ million people are now receiving clean water.
After many years of hard work, Water For Good has drilled over 650 new water wells, have maintained over 1000 existing wells and rehabilitated at least 900 old and forgotten ones. Whether it is a new pump, repairs to cement slabs or removing debris from the old wells, each well requires maintenance and costs money and time.
At Water For Good they have two rules -
Work Through Local People & Build Sustainability
- Working with local people provides stability and teaches new skills;
- Maintaining staff at a local level builds relationships with the communities;
- Empowers long term prosperity;
- Transforms whole communities.
- With this effort, sustainability is built within the program, for the citizens become the technicians, the financial model stays in the region and the wells remain in good working order.
Once these communities have clean water within reach, the time-consuming task of collecting water diminishes, the health and safety of the women and children is improved and more time is spent on attending school and work and there is a greater sense of community.
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Give Back Goods is helping to support Water For Good by selling jewelry, mugs and other gifts that give a portion of the proceeds back to Water for Good. For each item purchased you give 1 week of clean water to CAR.
Give Back Goods is proud to help support Water For Good!
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Tara Dodson is the creator of the Living Full Circle Blog and will be our guest blogger each month for Mindful Mondays where she hopes to inspire us to make sustainable choices in our daily lives while at home, traveling, and in the workplace. She is the mother of three, has an endearing partner, and has traveled internationally since she was a child with her family and friends. She truly enjoys spending time with her family outside whether it is in the garden talking to the yard birds, biking to the beach, hiking, or doing a beach cleanup. She serves her local community by working for public service by day, provides sustainability consulting to businesses and organizations on the side with her business, Full Circle Resource Management, LLC,and as co-founder of Keepers of the Coast, she also does coastal educational and sustainability programs. As a recent graduate from Southern New Hampshire University with an MBA in Sustainability, her background is embedded in conservation, sustainability, and traveling. With over 15 years of experience, she hopes that you will join her on this journey of inspiration.
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With each purchase through Give Back Goods you are supporting important causes like clean water, prevention of human trafficking, environmental, animal causes and much more. You also support poverty-stricken communities throughout the world through Fair Trade wages & practices. Give Back Goods goal is to give 10% of their profits each year to their partner organizations. With your support, they hope to be able to accomplish this in their second year of business. Another very special part of Give Back Goods is that when you make a purchase you are literally participating in a sustainable approach to decreasing our impacts to our natural resources like overused land for landfill space, impacts to our forests and pollution of our oceans.
We appreciate your support in helping us GIVE BACK!
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