Water is indeed the very source of life. This precious finite resource is, for many of us, not a source of daily worry; we wake up with the certainty that when we turn on the faucet, water will come from it. We worry about showering quickly because we are running late for work, not because we feel limited by our water consumption. We carry bottles of water in our backpacks and purses, have them next to us while at our desks, and when we go back home, we turn on the washing machine. The fact is, water is, for many of us, a finger away. Creating a conscience about our water consumption and the importance of understanding why and how we can and should use it in the smartest ways possible are matters of the utmost importance for us, as humans, and as a species. And this is what Earth Week’s activities are about.
In the heart of Guatemala, in a village called Estancia Vieja in the municipality of San Raymundo, 45 indigenous leaders reunited with 4 Play for Peace facilitators and worked together in a 3-hour workshop to learn how to take better care of their environment, reforestation, and, of course, water care. Not far from there, in the same municipality but in a village called Los Cipreses, 28 participants along with 3 Play for Peace facilitators worked together in activities oriented to create awareness and give out techniques for environmental care, reforestation, garbage disposal, and water care. These indigenous leaders will go back to their communities, back to their homes with new ideas, new ways of seeing their everyday activities, and the seed to start a change that has all the potential to expand exponentially. And we sure hope it will.