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To: Mannie who wrote (28532)	9/8/2003 6:49:23 PM
From: abuelita	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104197

I was just interviewed for a piece on Radio Free Asia, I'll let you know when it is available on the net. how'd it go? how long was it? -r1

To: Mannie who wrote (28532)	9/8/2003 7:26:34 PM
From: abuelita	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104197

scooter- interesting letter to the editor in today's sun re water cisterns. there's a picture in the link: Monday » September 8 » 2003 The joy of a cistern puts our water woes into perspective Angelika Dawson Vancouver Sun Geralda Maria dos Santos and her daughter draw water from their new concrete cistern near their home in northeastern Brazil. I read the Sept. 4 Sun stories about "water hogs" with great interest. Last year, my kitchen sink sprung a leak. It wasn't a huge deal. I didn't have torrents of water, but I couldn't use my sink for a couple of days and had to run down the hall to the bathroom to wash dishes or get water. All the way down the hall! That's at least three metres. Can you imagine? Having to lug my dirty dishes there and then wash them in a tiny sink and then having to lug them all the way back to the kitchen? What sacrifice! What huge personal hardship! At the same time, I was working on promotional material for a fund-raiser for the Mennonite Central Committee, telling the story of Geralda Maria dos Santos who lives in Brazil. Geralda's family was one of 40 in her area to build cisterns with materials purchased through an MCC loan. "Before I had a cistern, during the drought, I would go to the water distribution point (three kilometres away) and wait for hours in line, sometimes sleeping with my children there, and only arriving back home with water the next morning," she says. MCC has promoted cistern production for 20 years in northeastern Brazil. Last year, the project expanded to two new municipalities. MCC has met its goal of helping more than 100 families build new cisterns and plans to build 100 more this year. Families provide the labour and pay back the cost of materials into a rotating fund over two years. Geralda is now collecting rainwater in her cistern. She reports that it is almost always full. She uses the water only for drinking and cooking; water for laundry and dishes comes from water holes. Can you imagine? Even with the cistern, she still hauls water -- certainly more than three metres down a hallway. Remembering Geralda's story reminded me how very blessed I am, how much I have that I take for granted and the responsibility that I have to be a good steward of what I've got. It is also a reminder to all of us that we have much we can share with people like Geralda, who in turn, is sharing the gift that she has been given. "When neighbours who do not yet have a cistern ask for water, I give them some," she says. "One cannot deny giving water to a thirsty person." Angelika Dawson Communications Department Mennonite Central Committee Abbotsford © Copyright 2003 Vancouver Sun canada.com