Last summer Titus Kiilu (AIDS training coordinator for the Africa Brotherhood Church in Kenya) was a special guest at the Annual Assembly of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. While he was in Wolfville, Titus spoke to various gatherings about justice issues in Kenya. Together with Sharing Way staff (Gord King, Marilyn Smith and Lois Mitchell), Titus participated in a workshop on water issues. And he talked about water and the way lack of access to water affects people's lives in Kenya in many ways. This sparked the interest of Peter Chasse, the youth pastor at Main Street Baptist Church in Saint John, NB and he decided to do something about it. He has coached the youth group (Standing Strong) to get involved and become advocates for water justice. They have a great web site: http://www.thewaterproject.org/ and have introduced a challenge in their church and beyond, to reduce or eliminate our use of bottled water and donate the money to a Sharing Way water project in Kenya. Specifically, the challenge is to give up bottled water and donate $90 (the average amount Canadians spend annually on bottled water) or, if you can't quit the bottled water habit, to give $90 anyway.
Whether you drink bottled water or not, you can help this youth group reach their goal (of $6000). And it's not just about money but also about being informed so that we can make good choices about ethical consumption on a variety of fronts. To see how a little inspiration (and information) can go a long way, check it out at http://www.thewaterproject.org/ and get involved!
