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Clean water – you turn on the faucet, and out it flows. Bathing, washing, cleaning or drinking, it is there for you to use. If you choose not to drink the water from your faucet, you can buy it in a bottle from the local store. But what if retrieving and using water wasn’t that easy? What if you had to dig a hole in the ground to access water, only to find that it was brown and dirty and filled with bacteria. If you were able to take a shower, you would need to make certain that the water didn’t enter your mouth for fear of contamination.

This is the case with the water in Ethiopia. This water crisis is how Doc and Helen Burleigh, of Mansfield, choose to give back. Their son, Galen, and daughter-in-law, Kristin, adopted a son from Ethiopia. Helen was able to make the trip to Ethiopia ,with Kristin, to bring Markos home. Learning about the need for clean water in Ethiopia weighed heavy on Helen’s heart. After returning home with her grandson, she told her husband that they must return. They will be making another trip to Ethiopia on February 22, 2014, and staying until March 16. They will be assisting in the building of a water project for a school and village that will provide clean water for over 500 families.

When a village gets a well, the village is taught about hygeine and the importance of hand washing. The walk for water, that used to take up to four hours, now takes 15 minutes…and the water is clean. The extra time is now used to plant vegetable gardens and feed your family. Children stop getting sick, and the money that was used on medications can now be used for school fees and uniforms.

Maybe you are not able to travel to Ethiopia, but would still like to help the Burleighs with this cause. You have two opportunities to help them. One is to fill a gallon size zip lock bag with the following items: tooth brush and tooth paste, pencils and a pencil sharpener, small notebook, crayons, small toy, stickers, and granola bar. The drop off point in Wellsboro is at Ginn & Vickery P.C. 99 Main Street and in Mansfield they may be dropped off at Crossroads Bed & Breakfast 131 South Main Street. Dash for Doc’s Well of Hope is a 5K walk/run that will be held April 26, 2014 at 8:30 at the boat launch. To learn more about this event, you may contact Cindy Fitzgerald at 607-426-5898, or visit their Facebook event by clicking here.