I spent the last eight months running around the world, and that is not an understatement. After graduate school I somehow figured out a way to travel, work, run on little money, but also eat a lot of good food. But the farther I went and the longer I was away the more impossible it became to turn a blind eye to the overwhelming amount of help people needed. And I do not want to be the kind of person who turns a blind eye, visits places, and leaves them potentially worse than when I arrived (as in, tourists in general, not me specifically).
We are living in a world of travelers, of #vanlifers and freelancers, and Instagramers who make a living wandering the globe and taking photos of their smoothies, and yet, how much good are any of us actually doing? We are continual tourists in a world that needs more humanitarians. Going is not enough, we need to start going and packing with us just a little more purpose, a little more ways to make it better a long the way. You’re going anyway, why not do good while you’re at it?
And this is the exact sentiment behind Waves 4 Water, a guerilla humanitarian organization that implements water filters around the world in disaster areas and rural communities that crucially need access to clean water. They have been first responders to nearly every global disaster in the last 6 years, and have implemented filters in countries around the world, providing the means to clean water to over 7 million people in need.
But, the glory of this project is that it is based on the same simple concept I am preaching about above. Do what you love and do good along the way. Waves 4 Water has a Clean Water Courier Program that will aid in your support. Their platform helps you do everything from raise money for you travels, teach you how to implement the filters, give you filters, and then help inform you of the best means to make contact in the areas you are going to be most affective. You pack them in your bag, and you’re off.
There are countless organizations that can put you in the field and help you volunteer but as of right now I’ve got my eye on W4W as being the easiest, most immediate, and effective way to implement some good into the next Go that you’ve got. Click here for more information: Waves 4 Water.
(Feature image via @urbanoutfitters)
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