From Nightmare To Dream Come True: Part 2
July 1, 2008
This post originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine. Part 1 appeared yesterday.
Jeff Shinabarger, co-founder of the Fermi Project and Rwanda Clean Water, is the creative director & experience designer for all Fermi Project initiatives, the editor of Fermi Words, a digital media magazine educating leaders on shaping culture, and the creative mind behind the Catalyst Conference. Jeff lives in Decatur, Georgia with his wife, Andre, and dog Max. (contact: jeffs@fermiproject.com)
We came home and were humbled by how many lives were changed and how little we did to make such a substantial difference for thousands of people in Rwanda. Yet millions more still don’t have the luxury that I have of clean water every day. What if we could do more? What if more families had access to clean water? Those were the questions we left asking.
Since our trip to Rwanda we have collaborated with individuals and churches all over the nation that have grasped the importance of clean water and have together raised $440,000 toward clean water in Rwanda. Our goal is to raise $1 million. As this dream has become a reality, I continually reflect on three powerful concepts I have learned along the journey:
Common good projects unify people. Thirty kids made beautiful artwork on ceramic pitchers they sold on Ebay. Cove United Methodist Church, in Alabama, had a free will offering on a Sunday morning that totaled $70,000. A coffee shop in Orlando found a matching donor for a fundraiser at their business and raised $12,000. We are partnering with high-profile celebrities and executives on a film to be released in 2008 about the global need for clean water.
We recently connected with a serial entrepreneur from Boulder, committed to the teaching of Gandhi, who was extremely excited about the project. N.T. Wright explains in Simply Christian, “We all share not just a sense that there is such a thing as justice, but a passion for it, a deep longing that things should be put to rights.” The story of Rwanda Clean Water is shared by the gifts from thousands of individuals. Rwanda Clean Water is people of different convictions, theology, age, religion, and location working together to better humanity.
Clean water is an essential to life. All people agree. Unifying for the common good is a great conversation for Christians to lead in culture.
Clean water creates sustainable communities. We are all aware of the genocide that resulted in millions of deaths in Rwanda. Thirteen years later, they are restoring friendships, through conversations and grace. Steven Garber in his book Fabric of Faithfulness says, “Community is the context for the growth of convictions and character.” If this is true, then we need to help create simple, community- driven environments, where convictions and character can be reclaimed. When I visited one of the new wells in Rwanda, I noticed hundreds of people walking for up to 3 miles with these unforgettable yellow jugs. Every day, a person from every family will walk or ride a bike to the well to get water for the day. Through clean water locations, healing to individuals is happening daily. Conviction and character is being restored. Bill McKibben, in his brilliant book Deep Economy, thinks growth in developing countries, “should concentrate on creating and sustaining strong communities, not creating a culture of economic individualism.” Clean water not only benefits individual Rwandans but also offers a deep place for developing the Rwandan community.
Influence is gained by doing something. The most difficult element of moving an idea into motion is starting. Yet, when a great idea is launched, influence quickly follows. The dream that woke me up that night was about one little boy, yet thousands of people have joined in the initiative and thousands of Rwandans have benefited from one boy. Rwanda Clean Water has gained attention from media, churches, and cultural leaders because we did something. Everyone has an idea, but few people move that idea into reality. When creators move from idea to action, people will follow. Don’t search for influence. Don’t care who gets the credit. Search yourself. Find what moves you. Discover a place of need. Authentically pursue a vision that helps humanity. Use the gifts you have been given. Influence will follow at the moment you can handle it.
Join Rwanda Clean Water Project. As encouraging as this project has been to me, most people in rural Rwanda still do not have access to clean water. Women and young children walk for miles to fetch water from swamps and dirty rivers with buckets and canisters. It is amazing that with a simple gift of money we can literally save lives, decrease illnesses, and create sustainable communities.
We are looking for 300 churches to join a growing community in raising funds to bring clean water to Rwanda. Give $3,000 to Rwanda Clean Water and 750 people will receive the simple gift of drinking clean water for the rest of their life. Your community, your family, your neighborhood, and your friends can work together to raise the funds that will forever change lives. Please join us in providing clean water to Rwanda.
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