(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Spring 2025 Issue #115)
Canticle of the Creatures Reflections – Part 1
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Sister Water and the H2O Project
by Cathy Roszhart, OFS
Vice-Minister, St. Thomas More Region
SISTER WATER
“Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water.” Pope Francis
You may be familiar with and donate to the H2O Project, the international project that helps promote Christian solidarity, advocacy and financial support for poor communities who have no access to clean drinking water.
Last year our national fraternity donated a total of $10,400 for the H2O project to three separate entities including the Well4Africa social initiative. Out of that total amount, $4,400 went to Well4Africa alone.
The H2O Project is usually promoted during Lent; however, contributions are welcome all year. With that in mind, during the summer of 2024, an objective to raise money was developed in St. Thomas More region. Members were offered a way to participate in a collective action to help bring clean drinking water to our brothers and sisters all over the world.
“… I was thirty and you gave me a drink…” (Matthew 25:35)
My husband Steve and I were preparing to walk the Camino de Santiago in the fall from Lisbon, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostella, Spain (400 miles). Inspired with the idea to raise money for the H2O Project, we asked all members in our region to consider sponsoring our pilgrimage by pledging a dollar amount for the miles we planned to walk.
The connection between our Camino trek and the water project seemed obvious. When pilgrims set out to walk on the Way to Santiago, it is imperative to constantly keep hydrated throughout the day. Conversely, it is essential to be mindful of the amount of water you need to carry with you. You want to have enough water until you reach the next opportunity to fill up your bottle without weighing yourself down unnecessarily with too much water. Also, as you pass by public fountains, you need to ensure that the water is potable and safe to drink.
With this great awareness of the need for water during our walk, we truly appreciated various acts of kindness like when a young woman offered to fill our water bottles with ice cubes or when the woman at a café refilled our bottles with tap water instead of charging us for another bottle of water. These were great blessings! In the end, our Camino experience increased our empathy for all who thirst in this world.
Once we returned from our pilgrimage, we collected the donations. A total of 24 individuals and 3 fraternity councils generously contributed. At the beginning of this year, the members of St. Thomas More Region presented a check to our National fraternity in the amount of $3,270 to contribute to the H2O Project.
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