Frida Sumardjo

Busselton Half Ironman

Last weekend I raced the Perth Busselton Half Ironman. It’s a long distance endurance event of swim, bike and run where proper nutrition and hydration is so important.  I knew the run would be the toughest after a 2km swim and 90km bike. An ironic thought came as I was running the last leg of the 21km run. So here I was grabbing cups full of water or electrolytes at every aid stations, and I would drink it all or sometimes only just took some sips and threw the rest away. All the athletes on course were doing the same without giving it a second thought. But wait. Hang on a minute. Talk about reality check!! We THREW AWAY drinkable water which was readily available and didn’t think twice about it!! Wow. This happens on a daily basis around the world. How very lucky!! But most of us are not so lucky. Because this is NOT the case in some parts of the world especially in Africa. They wouldn’t be able to afford to throw anything away especially when it comes to clean drinkable water which is very very difficult to access.

Thia is why UNICEF is partnering with Les Mills to raise funds to complete two multi-village solar-powered water systems in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This will ensure they have access to clean drinking water. For many children in Ethiopia – and mostly it’s the girls – life is a daily slog of taking a bucket to fetch water for the family. It’s a daily grind of hours of walking to a well or a waterhole. Hours of maybe three, maybe four, maybe five, and maybe you won't get hurt along the way. And then back again tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that and how much time is there for going to school? Not much, if any.

Water is life. And we all could contribute somehow. In ANYWAY. It doesn’t matter how much we give! It’s the thought that counts. Let’s help each other 🙏❤️