18 YEARS OF SAVE THE RAIN
A Lifelong Legacy
S
ave the Rain turns 18, and as we come of age, we’ve been thinking of the many gifts each year has been blessed with. Perhaps the richest of these is that we can sit face to face with every family who has received one of our rainwater harvesting systems. We know their names and their stories. We have watched their children grow, and their joys and victories have been our happiest moments. Water is the agent through which we come face to face with our people – then we join hold hands, and walk the rest of the journey together. Our tanks are built to last – and so are our relationships. Ultimately, we’re building a structure out of rain that delivers love. 18 years ago, a conspiracy of magic and destiny brought us 14,000 miles to Joseph’s home in Tanzania. His daughter Violeth walked for water each day, her body bent from the labor and
dangerously high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in the nearby river. We built our first rainwater harvesting system on his house, and, perceiving its transformational potential, he said – what you have given to us, we would like to give to our country. Joseph took us to Nambala Primary, encouraging us to join students on their quest for water to bring to school and home. It was a devastating education in the myriad ways scarcity steals childhood and robs children of a future. We went home and immediately began fundraising to build our first rainwater harvesting system on this school. Our next school project was 12 miles away, but our budget only stretched as far as a bicycle. Materials were stored at Joseph’s home, and each day, he’d load up his bike with rebar, wheelbarrows, shovels, and people, powering forward with irrepressible energy and unwavering faith.
