Twestival Home

When Michelle (Tworganizer) asked me to blog for this event on behalf of A Glimmer of Hope (to date, we’ve funded more than 2,800 water projects in rural Ethiopia), I had to admit that I hadn’t done it before and wasn’t sure where to start. Then, I read the comment by Ghoster. In it, he asks “How is this going to change things?” and frames his question in the context of the scope of the problem vs. the efforts of a few kind-hearted Austinites. Of course, in terms of the big picture (one billion+ without access to safe water), it’s not going to make much of a dent. But, to the 1,000 or so people who do receive clean water as a result of the event, it’ll change things in a big way. Through my work at Glimmer, I’ve seen first hand the impact clean water can have on a community as well as the suffering and social stagnation that can be caused by not having it. It’s kind of like the old story of the thousands of starfish stranded on a beach. Maybe saving one starfish at a time isn’t efficient enough for people like Ghoster but if not us, who? And, let’s not forget there’s more than 100 of these events going on around the world which hopefully will be as successful as the Austin one - that’s a lot of starfish.

Imagine that you lived in a place where water borne diseases were rampant. Your local water source is contaminated, and typhoid outbreaks occur whenever major flooding occurs - probably from sewage and contaminants entering your water supply. Thousands of people become ill, and many even die. There are no trained water staff to effectively treat the water to protect human health. Seems worlds away, doesn’t it?

It’s not -
You are right here in Austin, Texas, only the year is 1911 and drinking water is untreated. It wasn’t until 1915 when the State’s first sanitary engineer Vic Ehlers was appointed by the governor to make inspections, investigations, and reports of water borne disease epidemics, and the City of Austin was convinced to chlorinate their water in 1916. Typhoid from public water sources in Texas was eradicated as Mr. Ehlers traveled from town to town, educating water operators and engineers.

The Sanitary Engineering Division of the Texas State Health Department was subsequently formed to guide and develop the state environmental programs. In 1973 Congress promulgated the Safe Drinking Water Act, setting national drinking water standards.

We are fortunate. Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us.

By participating in Austin Twestival which supports charity: water, you can affect a change. This non profit organization is working with international partners including A Glimmer of Hope and Water for People to bring clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the money raised goes to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years.

Come have fun at our event, but you can really help us now by blogging, linking, tweeting, anything to get the word out! If you want to volunteer, send a tweet to @snax or visit our Volunteer page on the Austin Twestival wiki.

Show the world that everything truly is big in Texas, including our hearts!