“I knew I needed to do something to regain perspective…”

Three girls from the Odiope community.

I was only in the bank for 5 minutes and it was gone.  My favorite bike. The lock was clipped. I didn’t waste a moment, and headed to the Badlands of Philadelphia. I was going to steal it back.  For 3 days in a row, I buzzed around the roughest part of a rough city. I couldn’t shake the quest. I knew I needed to do something to regain perspective.  And I remembered Shilpa [Founder & Executive Director of Surge for Water]. We had met in Haiti a few months earlier, and she answered my question, “Is it really that bad?” with photos and stories about Uganda.  I was huffy over a missing bike, but remembering to remember how lucky I was helped.

And I decided to turn a bad moment into a good one, and committed to sponsoring a well.  That decision changed how I felt, and has landed me in Africa 2 summers in a row.

And if given a chance, I’ll show some before/after photos of my trips and the work Surge is doing in Kaberamaido.  And talk about Musa. And Lucy. And Opolon. And about how generosity over here can change a village over there.

I had seen poverty statistics and was aware that the water in our toilets is cleaner than a lot of drinking water around the world, but meeting the children was what changed the landscape.

Opolon Brian (left), Adam and Musa.

Musa is a ball of joy.  His teachers think he could be the next great politician in Uganda.  He is 7, lives in a cinder block shed, but let’s not bet against him.

Lucy (second from the left), Adam, and rest of family.

Lucy’s home life is complicated.  She smiles through tough stuff. There is a narrow path for her out of deep poverty, but she can make it.

Oplon Brian, Adam and a chicken!

Opolon is fun.  He lives in a mud hut, rides a bike 10 years too big for him, and his mom gave me a goat.

These children have a chance when they have clean water.  It’s a starting point, but it is the starting point that keeps them healthy and in school.

Open Well: Before Rehabilitation
Protected Spring: After Rehabilitation

Written by Adam Bruckner, a good friend to Uganda and Surge for Water since 2016. We’re thankful for his ongoing generosity and his perspective on international development!

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