Dream Big, Do Big, Start Somewhere!

Namaste.  Welcome to Nepal! (Pretty stunning huh?)

‘Dream big and do big'.  Last night I heard these words uttered by a mother to her two children (I am guessing boy age 11, girl age 14) and husband, eating their first dinner in Nepal. They were talking about it in the context of traveling but I think this simple sentence reaches beyond the confines of seeing new places and eating new foods. It reaches down into the heart of everyone of us and challenges us to make a difference in our world. This one sentence is especially poignant seeing as today is World Water Day. 

Last year I spent world water day at the festive celebrations in Lusaka, Zambia (You can read the post below... yes, the last time I posted on this blog was one year ago).  This year I spent it at an all day symposium in Kathmandu.  I’ll be honest, this morning I woke up and was prepared for a bit of a snooze fest (powerpoints and lectures while battling a 12 hour time change just didn’t sound like a recipe for excitement).  I was wrong.  No, it wasn’t particularly energetic, with singers, dancers, booths and a parade like last year, but it was inspiring.  I sat in a room amongst some of the most brilliant minds in Nepal as they shared the latest findings on groundwater research and the imminent water shortage facing the Kathmandu valley.  I won’t bore you with all the details so to sum it up it looks something like this. 

•  Over 50% of the water used in Kathmandu valley is groundwater.
•  Due to urbanization only about 6.5% of rain makes it back into the ground to recharge the aquifers.
• Currently the 2.5 million people in Kathmandu valley are depleting the aquifers faster than they are recharging.  There is a deficit of 213 million litres of water per day.
• The ground water is contaminated, they have traced much of this contamination back to poor sewerage.

This storyline is not unique to the Kathmandu valley.  This is a story being told all over the world.  So what exactly was inspiring about all this???  The overwhelming resolve that there are solutions – forced groundwater recharge, stronger government regulations on groundwater extraction, coordination amongst stakeholders, improved sanitation, etc. Not one person got up there, showed all these very scary facts and then said ‘well that’s our sad story, it’s a massive and complex problem so hoard your water and enjoy it while it lasts’. No, they had ideas to make changes and one professor put it perfectly “We have to start somewhere”.

‘Dream big and do big’ might be a bit daunting for some people, how can you possibly make a difference in this world, especially when some of the issues we face are as complicated and daunting as access to clean water for all people. I say you can make a difference and so do the 70 other Nepalis I sat with today. All you have to do is start somewhere.What's your big dream?

Happy World Water Day!

If your reading this from Calgary and want a dose of inspiration from little people (school groups) making big differences go to CAWST’s WorldWater Day Celebration at Bankers Hall 4:30 – 7:00pm.

With love,

Taryn