I Walk the Line

Monday was a day spent driving and walking our Uru water system. This included the “Grandmother Well” at Kimocholo, the Unity Path pipeline bringing the water to the Ndshini cistern, and then following the pipe path through 4 villages which include numerous sub-areas. These 4 villages now contain 6 public access points for clean water from the Grandmother Well,with 4 more kiosks in progress.

We met and talked with many Uru people throughout our walk, asking questions about the water and the difference it is making in their lives. My favorite conversation was with a young woman carrying a tiny baby on her back, who thanked us “for bringing the water so close to her home”. Her daily walk for water has been dramatically reduced from hours to only minutes. Not only is she and her family enjoying safe clean water now, but she has more time available to her, greatly reducing the stress of her daily life.

As we walked and then stopped to look at the public access kiosks, the nearby manifolds with their new meters, and to speak with the people… I could hear Johnny Cash’s song “I Walk the Line” inside my head… over and over. Aside from the obvious correlation, I realized that this song was deeply appropriate for our walk, as it is a beautiful love song. So I smiled then hummed a bit louder, happy to be a part of a love story that connects hearts, hands, and hope around the world.