It’s Lisa’s Doing

Lisa Primavera in her cool car which happened to match our race T-shirts!

It’s Lisa’s fault. She’s the one who got it started. 

She recruited people from her workplace, fitness center, church, and her neighborhood - anyone who would be willing. She convinced them to run and raise funds for clean water in South Sudan. She sent weekly emails giving the how to’s of raising money and training for the run. She encouraged, challenged, and inspired. Weekly she met up with the group to run together. One mile. Three. Five. Until they finally hit their target ten miles. Each person had their reasons for saying yes to Lisa, but collectively their goal was to raise funds for one well. 

They raised enough for FOUR wells. I credit Lisa with their success. Her feet on the ground leadership motivated this group to go beyond what they thought they were capable both as individuals and as a group.

Aristotle said the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Or as the Apostle Paul said, ‘All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) 

 I started running in my twenties. In my 30’s, I broke two bones in my back, and my running was sidelined. I was still able to run short slow runs occasionally, but running races were over. 

It’s been about fifteen years since my last race. But I couldn’t resist when Steve asked me to join the Florida group running the half marathon for his organization; Water is Basic. I knew it would be hard on my body, but I am passionate about empowering women and girls - so I said yes. 

 I knew raising money for clean water in South Sudan would have a direct impact on girls. Collecting water is a girl’s job, and she spends her days walking miles to collect water for her family – water that is usually dirty and will make the family ill. But dirty or not water is basic to survival, so dirty water she gets. Her walking for water miles away from home puts her body in harm's way and keeps her from the ability to attend school. 

I’ve had the opportunity to attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and I know, like most of you know, that when we educate a girl, she is less likely to marry young or contract HIV — and more likely to have healthy, educated children. Each additional year of school, a girl completes cuts both infant mortality and child marriage rates. We know that investing in a girl’s education not only elevates her life but the life of her family and her country. The World Bank has stated that the biggest bang for the buck in development is girl’s educations. I guess the African proverb is right, “You educate a girl, and you’re educating a village.” 

Having a water well in her village keeps her out of harm's way, gives her family health, and her the freedom to attend school. 

I started training three months out from the race day. And as expected, my body didn’t hold up well. I was only able to run five miles once; the rest of my training was 3-4 mile runs. Not enough to get me across the half marathon line without injury or pain. The week before the race, I became sick, and that finalized my decision. I would run the shorter, 5K race instead.

On November 10th at 5:30 AM, a group of us piled into the van and headed to the start line. Steve turned to me in the van and said, “Let’s try to run the half. If we can’t make it, we will Uber back.” 

I was in. 

I ran five, then six, then seven miles. At the seventh mile, I was done. I decided I’d walk to mile marker eight and Uber back to the finish line. At mile eight, I felt better, so I decided I’d run to mile marker nine and be done. I ran and ran and ran. Mile marker 9 was nowhere in sight. It felt like the longest mile I’d ever run. Then suddenly, I spotted the marker; it read “mile marker 10.” Ten! Only three more miles. I could do that. 

And I did. It wasn’t pretty or fast, but I did it. 

And as it turned out, I too raised more money than expected. Women abundantly gave to my fundraising page. Women gave beyond my $1,000 goal and gave over $3,000! II am overwhelmed at what can be accomplished by one and by the collective group. Thanks to all of you who gave. There are girls collecting water today who will ALSO be able to attend school because of you. And that right there changes everything for her.