Huenu Solsona

You could call it the real survivor without the glitz of Hollywood.

On 1 April 2010, nine people from all over the world and I, will be boarding a boat and heading to a deserted island in South East Asia.  There are no behind-the-scenes camera crews or the chance to win rewards or having to vote someone out.

What we are doing however, is trying to raise money for charity… I have personally chosen The Water Project, a charity that provides potable, drinking water to areas in Africa and other parts of the world where it is most needed. For years, this was my father’s job and I have seen what his work has done to help thousands of people who previously died from water born diseases or had to travel many kilometers every day just to get enough water to live. Still today, more than half the world’s population fetches their water – all you and I do is turn on the tap.

For our 30 day adventure, we will each have a 5 litre bag with essential tools such as knives, lighters and torches, but not much can fit in these bags and we will have no external help whatsoever. With these contents and whatever we can find on the island, we will have to survive for a full month in complete isolation in what will undoubtedly be the endurance test of a lifetime.

We will have to feed off the land and the sea and learn to live with nothing more than nature has provided, away from society and the comforts we are used to. We will experience starvation, sleep deprivation, extreme heat and humidity, wild animals and insects and above all, we’ll have to interact and survive with nine strangers, all with our own opinions and habits.

It’s the final countdown until complete isolation for Life 2 The Limit adventurers

There are less than 30 days left until 10 adventurers from South Africa, Norway and Canada leave for a deserted island in South East Asia to spend 30 days in complete isolation. Life 2 The Limit (www.life2thelimit.co.za) will not only challenge their physical ability, but their mental stability too and at the same time raise funds for charity.

The focus is on physical and mental preparation. Who will have what it takes to last 30 days with almost no comforts from home and only what they can fit into a five-litre dry bag? This is the real ‘Survivor’ without the glitz of Hollywood. There are no behind-the-scenes camera crews, the chance to win rewards or having to vote someone out.

Fund raised are calculated on a ‘per day’ basis and shared equally between the adventurers and their chosen charities (such as The Water Project chosen by Huenu Solsona) and the group charity. Adventurers are able to leave the island at any stage but it will mean having to deal with ultimate self-defeat, having not survived the full term. Also, all funds collected will move over to the charity from the date the adventurer leaves the island.

Life 2 The Limit promises to be a fascinating study in just how well modern man is able to deal with life totally stripped of modern comforts. The adventurers will face sleep deprivation, starvation, extreme heat and humidity, wild animals and insects. They will also have to interact and survive with nine other strangers, all with their own opinions and habits.

The brainchild of Life 2 The Limit is Huenu Solsona, the founder of the hugely successful outdoor fitness programme for women, Adventure Boot Camp. The idea first came a while back, when Solsona wondered what would happen should she be stripped of all her modern comforts. How would she survive? This led to the challenge of taking on the island escape.

To read more about the adventurers, follow their diary entries and watch their video blogs; or sponsor an adventurer and donate funds to their charity, please go to www.life2thelimit.co.za.

Here’s what they had to say about helping out!

Canmore Collegiate High School, nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Alberta is home to a group of dedicated students under the name of Club Green. Our main project last year, April 2009, was called Camp Out for a Cause. We raised money for The Water Project to build a fresh water well in an African community. We put out coin collection jars around town, received pledges from friends and family and to raise the most money we camped in an outdoor sanctuary in our school for 24 hours. It was late in April when we did this so weather was not ideal…exactly what we wanted to raise money!! While we were in the middle of the circle (what we call it at our school) we picked up trash, dead growth and did some landscaping to help improve the vitality of it for the coming spring. It was a success! Our goal was $3000 to build a whole well, in the end we only made $1800 which was a lot short of our goal but we were very happy with the outcome. The money will go to help provide fresh water in an African community through a well being built.

Thank you for everything you do, it’s an extremely important cause.

From left – Brent Bittner, Emilie Gibeau, Michelle Chevalier, Haley Campbell, Morgan Schultz and Chloe Leblanc

Before a well is constructed, our partners spend time training the community or school in proper sanitation and hygiene.

Teaching why dirty water makes one sick is an important part of the process.

The desks and chairs have made such a difference.  We’ve happily said goodbye to our old sagging folding tables and broken chairs.  And our new filing system (lots more drawers!) makes things so much more efficient around here.

We couldn’t be happier or more comfortable.  Thanks!!!

Datum is a designer and manufacturer of durable, American-made storage systems, office equipment and furniture.  Family owned and operated since 1968, Datum offers the industry’s most extensive warranty.

Rebekah is a missionary living and serving in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic through Kids Alive, International.  She serves in an orphanage and affiliated school nearby.  As you’ll read in her own words, she understands living in difficult circumstances.  But she also has a beautiful perspective on how all of us have something to give.

Recently she shared with us one of the most inspirational and encouraging stories of generosity we have ever heard.  The efforts of her students to raise money for a well in Africa are both humbling and joy inducing.

We hope you are as moved as we were by what she and her friends in Monte Plata have accomplished.   Giving out of poverty…grace abounds.

Yo quiero beber de agua de vida. ¡Yo quiero beber del agua del POZOTÓN!

(I want to drink the water of life. I want to drink the water from the Pozo-thon!)

Rebekah describes the Pozo-Thon…

Every 15 seconds, a child dies of water related illness.

Stop and think about that for a minute.  Really think about it.  Every 15 seconds, a child dies of water related illness.  Someone’s little boy, little girl, brother, sister- gone.  And it could be so easily prevented.

To me, that reality is completely unacceptable.

Thankfully, there is something we can do about it– Something even the impoverished kids of Monte Plata can do.

Our kids may not be rich here.  Many of them fight the daily reality of parasites and the inconvenience of having to look for water.  I don’t want to make light of that truth, but on the other hand, their poverty is not as extreme as in other parts of the world.  Yes, they have to look for water, but the journey typically takes less than 15 minutes.  For many of them, their family buys purified water to drink.  They have clothes, a house, at least one meal a day, free medical care and access to an education.

They are blessed. (emphasis added)

Now, being blessed, we want to give them the opportunity to reach out to those in even more dire need than they are.

Our kids may not have much money, but God has blessed them with incredible athletic ability.  In the style of a jog-a-thon, the kids are going to use their talents of running, throwing strikes, and shooting free-throws to raise $500 to help build to a well at a school in Africa, helping hundreds of families with 10 years of clean, accessible water.

Rebekah writes about the event…

The school shook to the feet stomping, drum beating, güira scratching, tambourine shaking, animated singing as the kids of EMR raised a raucous in preparation for the afternoon’s Pozothon. After months of planning, fundraising and enthusiasm building activities, the kids were ready to do their part to help drill a well for a school in Africa.

Finally, the time came and more than 60 kids, ages 10 – 16, showed up to run laps, pitch strikes, or throw free throws. We divided into 3 groups- two at school, and the runners heading over to the multi-use area to use the track. For 30 minutes the students went to work, using their talents for the benefit of those in even more desperate situations than they experience.

It was a hot, humid day. The basketball players began fussing because of the the burning sun. The runners, many of which were barefoot so as not to ruin their only pair of shoes, complained of the hot asphalt and rocky ground. The baseball players– well, they were just having fun But even when the kids were uncomfortable, ESPECIALLY when they were uncomfortable, we were able to remind them of the kids they were helping– children who have to face hours upon hours walking barefoot in blazing sun just to provide water for their families. The discomfort of the event helped make the purpose of this project more of a reality in the lives of the participants.

At the end of the activities, we celebrated with bottled water for each of the kids and a reminder that the real miracle would happen the following week when we went back to the community to collect the pledges folks had made to sponsor the kids. We had a goal of $17,000 pesos– about $500– an unfathomable amount. But our God is bigger than poverty. He is bigger than any doubts we might have. When we finally went to collect the funds, we found that He had provided more than $20,000 pesos for a total of $568! Not to us but to His name be the glory!

So many lessons were learned from this project. Lessons about world poverty, lessons about being blessed to be a blessing to others, lessons about serving others with hard work, lessons about using talents for God’s honor, lessons about God’s faithfulness and mightiness. But the main lesson that I pray our kids walked away with is that of Water. Not water to drink or with which to bathe, but Living Water. Living Water that can cleanse us from our sins, wash us clean, make us pure before God. Living Water that fulfills our deepest thirsts, regardless of our physical state. May our children here in Monte Plata learn to thirst and yearn for that water, and may the children who receive the water from the well also learn to drink deeply from the Wellspring of all life.

Thank You!

We are blessed to partner with Rebekah and the children of Monte Plata.  Soon we’ll be sharing their story with students in Kenya who will drink clean, safe water thanks to the generosity of children just like them.  Stay tuned…this story gets even better.

We love it when groups take the initiative to help and use their own unique gifts and abilities to make a difference.

Darla said…

“This group – Bronze Tigers – is one of my performing groups that chose to raise money to benefit children. This is our first project and it opened their eyes and brought them closer together.”

Follow updates from the well they funded here >>

We’re so inspired when people like Nate hear about the need of clean water, and without any help simply step up, get involved and pull off an amazing fundraiser.

Now, we’ll be doing our part by sending 100% of the money Nate raised to the field, to build wells for schools in Kenya and Sudan, so students just like Nate can do some amazing things themselves!

Here’s the note we received…

My son, Nate is 10 years old and just completed a successful fundraising effort for The Water Project, Inc. by organizing a basketball shootout for his entire school.  He was inspired to do this by watching the American Idol Giveback show in 2008.  I don’t know if it was your specific organization that was featured, but there was a whole story on building wells in Africa for those that don’t have access to clean water.

Interestingly, he approached his principal at his school; St. Paul’s Lutheran in Boca Raton, Florida and explained that he wanted help in organizing a fundraiser to raise money for this cause.  He set up this meeting on his own, and then told us about it.

Long story short, with the help of his school, Nate organized a fundraiser that took place on January 15^th of this year and has raised approximately $14,000.

Below are two links to the fundraising story from our local papers.  We are obviously very proud of Nate.

http://www.bocaparent.com/newsandviews.php?s=basketball-for-cleaner-water

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/boca-fourth-grader-organizes-event-to-raise-money-176574.html

As we have discussed, LWI has been – and will continue to be – invested in the long term water needs of Haiti. We are working to scale our operations to include 500 well rehabs in 2010. Just as a reference, our programs were completing between 200-300 a year, previously. This scale is possible, but we obviously need your help. As we each work with our constituent base, our common goal is not to see giving spike around this immediate disaster and then dwindle off when the media leaves. Rather, sustained investment in this program will allow the work to continue…. I think of the pressing need for all efforts of on-ground organizations in Haiti to immediately be able to scale, but to do so in a way that is sustainable.

We have found that the migration away from PaP has happened quickly. Our team is currently outside of PaP – and has repaired 9 wells so far (update was as of Friday – work occurred over the weekend). There is a lot of work ahead of us, and we are working to make sure that supplies are on the water to build our capacity. Our teams have reported that there are already people from PaP in Cap Haitian. So, we know from this point forward, work anywhere in the country is a response to this disaster.

After a phone call with our team in Haiti, LWI’s Haiti program director shared that the team indicated: “broken wells are everywhere; they said they could repair wells forever.”

Thank you for your partnership in assuring that long-term water needs are being met in Haiti. I have had an opportunity to keep in touch with many of you, and look forward to continuing to work towards a shared investment in rebuilding water infrastructure in Haiti.

“We are finally finished drilling the well in Muresuk village and let me tell you it was one of the toughest wells we have drilled yet!  We actually drilled two different holes.  On the first attempt, we drilled all the way down to 100m (328ft) and only found a small amount of water.  The amount of water was so small it didn’t keep the dust down as we drilled further.

For the second attempt, we moved down hill (and further from the village) and closer to the stream in the valley.  We drilled down to 50 meters and founds more water although at a much lower yield than we usually get.  There is definitely enough water for the current population though and even if the population triples, there is enough as long as they are responsible with the water.

As we were drilling the second attempt, the village elders were sitting around looking very worried.  I went to them and asked them if they were OK and they told me they were talking about moving the entire village if the second attempt failed also.  Thankfully, they won’t have to do that now.

On behalf of the village of Muresuk and WHI I want to thank you for you providing clean water to this suffering village.  How many lives were saved, how many productivity hours gained, and how much sickness avoided only God knows.  What I know for sure is that the village of Muresuk will never be the same and that its residents will remember you and be grateful for as long as they live.”