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Justice, Mercy, Humility…and Coffee (of course) in Portland
The legendary, at least in my mind, trip to Portland, Ore., happened! Technically, the retreat itself was in Vancouver, Wash., but you better believe I made my way to the city for some quality Portland coffee. This summer, when I was interviewing for this internship with Blood:Water, I was told about the retreat we would…
Read MoreA Special Message from Leon: A Red Tie Gala Update
Last year, we were honored to have Leon Mbae, from the Tumaini Medical Center in Isiolo, Kenya, join us for the Red Tie Gala. This year, he has a special message for those who generously gave during last year’s gala: Leon and the staff at Tumaini Medical Center help transform their community and end HIV/AIDS…
Read MoreAddressing Water Shortage in a Desert Community
Bubisa means “windy place.” It is a harsh, desert environment in northern Kenya, where scarce resources like water are critical for survival for the people and their livestock, upon which they depend. In 1954, a borehole was installed in the community, and the population of both people and livestock has been consistently on the rise…
Read MoreA Week of Collaborative Learning
In August, we gathered representatives from each of our partner organizations in Nairobi, Kenya, for a week of collaborative learning, sharing, engaging, and relationship building. This was our second annual Partner Summit, designed to create opportunities for our partners to share ideas, experiences, and victories. Hear directly from our partners about what this time meant…
Read MorePilgrimage Music Festival: A Gateway to Our Mission
Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to represent Blood:Water at the annual Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tenn., alongside Dan Haseltine, Blood:Water co-founder and artist relations, and our engagement intern, Amanda Wojcinski! Though we were lucky enough to have our booth in full shade all day, I think we got a very small…
Read MoreBlood:Water Book Club: “One Thousand Wells,” Section 4
Summary Jena’s sense of defeat continues as she faces more brokenness in the world, and she starts to question if justice is really worth fighting for. As she begins to look for a way to step out of Blood:Water, thinking she can no longer fight against the intense brokenness of this world, her husband, James,…
Read MoreLooking Back on Summer FUNdraising
Yesterday was the first day of fall! As we move into a new season, we want to honor the epic summer fundraisers that supported Blood:Water with their hard work and creativity. We were blown away by all the Lemon:Aid fundraisers who participated this summer, and it’s impossible to highlight all the great work they did! However,…
Read MoreBlood:Water Book Club: “One Thousand Wells,” Section 3
Summary Upon attending the funeral of a college friend in Lwala, Kenya, Jena learns about the practice of ignoring grief due to the high frequency of death in the community. She also witnesses extreme cultural differences when she spends time with women in the village–including the women’s lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, the abuse the…
Read MoreDon’t Miss Pilgrimage Pairings Next Weekend!
Get ready for one of the greatest nights of music you will ever experience! John Paul White, known for his deep-rooted, shadowed Americana that served as the backbone of the critically acclaimed, multi-Grammy Award-winning duo, The Civil Wars, will play a haunting set of live music alongside the harmonious and ever-talented pair, The Secret Sisters,…
Read MoreBlood:Water Book Club: “One Thousand Wells,” Section 2
Summary After touring with Jars of Clay for a while, Jena Lee Nardella flew to Kenya with Joel, a Blood:Water volunteer to investigate possible partners for Blood:Water and strategize for the 1000 Wells Project. While in Kenya, Jena and Joel learned the importance of doing work with the poor community, not for them; that it…
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