In our active society, it’s easy to forget how privileged we are. Fortunately, your employer might bring you to places such as the Wateraid office in London where the photographs on the wall are so striking that you must stop and stare. They show children with large bright smiles gathered around a tap providing safe drinking water from all over the world. The office is also filled with a contagious sense of pride and focus. The people here work long days and travel much but the atmosphere is great.
Responsibility & collaboration
It is an inspiring reminder of the responsibility we carry and can give new outlooks on the quality of life on a global scale. We worry daily about matters that would be trivial if we were born in one of the communities where Wateraid helps to provide safe and clean water. We all have this ability to stop, revaluate and realize that we can make a difference and change lives through a small act. This is a powerful motivator which can lead us on to do great things but a leap of faith is required.
At Basware we help to reduce the CO2 footprint of organizations by reducing the need for paper and save time & money through automation and collaboration. It means that Wateraid can have more focus on their primary mission; to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalized people by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene1.
Implementing our software includes working face to face with our customers and there is a good chance that you learn what they stand for. One of the most exciting parts of this job is the opportunity to look inside a wide variety of organizations and find creative solutions. This involves exchanging thoughts with people to learn the intricacies of their business and helped to inspire me to raise money for Wateraid. When fundraising, you also have a certain freedom to find creative ways to raise money. It also requires people skills to convince others to join you on your mission and I believe it is the most effective if you can find a way to make it personal. Through these experiences we can offer each other new perspectives and inspiration that leads us to life changing contributions and it certainly gave me that invaluable faith in humanity.
Make a difference
Isn’t it amazing that for only £700 Wateraid can build a public tap that is accessible to an entire community in Ethiopia? For £509 they can dig a well in Malawi that supports 120 people. Making a difference can become a very enticing activity once you take a moment to read up on it and realize what you achieve.
On the 2nd of July, I will be running the Compton Verney half marathon and we want to invite you to join us in supporting Wateraid for the people they help. For more details, follow this link.
1Source: http://www.wateraid.org/uk/who-we-are/our-strategy