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yesterday was World Water Day and while
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we've made some progress over the last
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10 20 years we still have a long way to
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go six hundred and fifty million people
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globally no access to safe drinking
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water so it's an issue that we need to
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keep advocating for we need to keep
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raising awareness for to ensure clean
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water for all
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hello and welcome to this very special
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episode earlier this year I was so
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thrilled to announce that Deanie had
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been selected by face Africa as the
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official media partner for their 10th
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wash gala which was held in New York now
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if you don't know who face Africa is I
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highly encourage you to check them out
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it's an organization that was started in
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2008 by the incredible Saran kabah Jones
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Saran and her family were forced to flee
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their home country of Liberia in the
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early 80s due to the civil war that
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devastated the country in 2008 she went
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back to Liberia for the first time and
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Saran was inspired to start a fund a
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child's education which we now know as
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face Africa over the years as the
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organization grew Saran realized that
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while education was a huge priority what
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was even more urgent was the need for
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children and their communities to have
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access to clean water and so 10 years
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ago the first fundraising gala was held
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to raise money for water sanitation and
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hygiene programs which is why it's
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called the wash gala this year's gala
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was a milestone gala this being its
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tenth year it was an absolutely
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phenomenal evening that raised a
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significant amount of money for wash
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programs across Africa it was also an
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opportunity to recognize just some of
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the people who are doing their part to
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help raise the quality and standard of
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life across Africa
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[Music]
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how you feeling good grace yes yes done
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thank you always do who are you wearing
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I feel like I may often tell you wearing
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a Nigerian designer and I'm gonna
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butcher the name but it's oh do ya think
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ya stunning I feel like I'm floating on
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clouds and water and that's the look I
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was going for that's just and you
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achieved it absolutely so let's talk
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about water
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this year's theme the sound of water why
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we why is it called the sound of water
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you know it's about using our voices
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sound voices amplifying what we're doing
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getting the message across that this
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issue of clean water is still very much
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a problem we've made some significant
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progress over the last decade or two
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we've cut the amount of people that have
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no access to safe drinking water and
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almost have it went from almost a
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billion to now
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six hundred and fifty million people and
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a majority of them are in sub-saharan
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Africa so it's an issue that affects our
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continent we've been working at it for
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ten years but it's just a drop in the
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ocean no pun intended but I think what's
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what's important is to know that in our
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lifetime we can solve this water crisis
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right it's something that's achievable
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it's doable and that's why it's
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important to invest in organizations
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like face Africa organizations that are
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African LEDs I asked for our lead who
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are close to the issues and can really
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come up with solutions that address this
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problem so the sound of water is all
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about getting people in this room to use
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their voices to use their platforms so
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to bring attention to this critical
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issue you said 10 years is a big year 10
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years it's a milestone year for us your
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vision 10 years ago where did you think
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this would go I had no vision I didn't
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set out to start a non-profit focused on
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water I went back to Liberia after
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almost 20 years when the civil war
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forced my family
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and myself to leave and when I went home
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I saw that there was an e there were
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gaps everywhere the country's
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infrastructure had been completely
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destroyed due to the Civil War and so
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myself and other young librarians knew
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that we needed to step in and do
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something we knew that it was up to us
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to work with the governments to work
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with other stakeholders to try and
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rebuild our country literally from the
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ground up and that's how I got involved
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initially I wanted to focus on education
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and then I realized that water was of
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access to water was a barrier to
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education and so you know it's a basic
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necessity that everyone needs and if you
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when you see people in communities
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suffering or women and girls walking
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long distances hours sometimes just to
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get access to water that may be
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contaminated I mean you have no choice
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you have no option but to say okay what
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can I do and that's the question I ask
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myself what can I do in my own small way
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and you realize that once you start
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doing something that's authentic once
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you start doing something that people
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believe in and they see the impact then
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they rally around you and that's why
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we're here ten years today today it's
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been just an incredible period of growth
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of challenges but also incredible
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support I have an amazing team of people
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that worked with me to organize this
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event but to also keep pushing the cause
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forward what's been the biggest
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challenge for you with face Africa in
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the ten years that you've been doing
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this I mean I it's always with any
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nonprofit it's always fundraising and
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funding and just having the resources
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that you need to tackle an issue or to
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tackle a major challenge like this so
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how do we find how do we mobilize the
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resources the support not just in terms
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of financial support but technical
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know-how what are some of the
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innovations out there that are happening
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around water where you can reach
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millions of people and where how can we
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share some of these knowledge with what
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some of our other partners in developing
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countries that have overcome this
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challenge and can now share some of
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those lessons and innovations and that's
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not
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nology so I think it's it's it's just
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about resources from every level and how
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can I'm sitting at home I'm just a quote
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important regular person how can I
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support you and the work that you're
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doing or how can I support water check
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the water to you know to help resolve
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what a challenges around the world I
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think we can all play a role in our own
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small way by supporting organizations
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that are doing this work investing in
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them and and every little bit helps
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you know their numbers floating around
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but sometimes with even $10 as little as
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$10 can help provide clean water to an
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individual you know to give $10 a month
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you can literally provide clean water to
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that person for a lifetime right so
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sometimes it's as small as just making a
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small donation and supporting
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organizations that are doing the work or
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again using your voice you know to
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highlight the issue to raise awareness
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to champion the cause and and and
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hopefully that will that will that will
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kind of contribute to all of the efforts
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that's happening around achieving the
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Sustainable Development Goals six so I
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know you've got a she looks stunning
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thank you after setting I know you've
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got to go yeah I'd like for you to just
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finish this sentence you know me I am
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powerful yeah yeah I am powerful you
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know to be able to get all these people
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in one room I think it takes a certain
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level though a power should make that
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happen we have a big goal tonight yes a
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half a million dollars you know we're
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looking to raise now I know we can do it
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so I'm gonna let you go do that and
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FaceTime you truly thank you thing
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because the work that you're doing
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literally changes lives you know I think
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sometimes we drove that around changing
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lives life changing this literally is
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like you said this is the difference for
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a young girl not having to walk miles to
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get water which means she may not go to
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school so I want to say thank you thank
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you so much thank you for your
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conviction thank you sir thank you I
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appreciate it mmm thank you
