Despite being born at 4am, getting up early has never been my thing. That first day was the only time I’ve been ‘a morning person’ and even then I probably cried about it! Ever since I’ve needed a loud alarm clock, multiple hits of the snooze button and there’s always a desperate hope that it’s the weekend and I can stay under the duvet ‘just a little bit longer’.
Five months ago things changed… I began working at One.
It’s a completely new experience for me; working for social good rather than corporate gain and it feels great. I don’t feel I’m doing a ‘job’ – it’s more an opportunity to help others. I’m part of a long chain of people who are working together to change lives and actually just give others the most basic of things that we take for granted every day – clean and safe water.
Just next to my desk hangs a picture of a young girl she’s 5 or 6 years old, standing ankle deep in a river, filling her blue bucket with water for the day.
The river is so filthy you can’t see her feet. Her clothes are dusty, her legs muddy and her eyes are missing a sparkle. As she looks back at me she seems to say ‘This isn’t fair. This isn’t good to drink. My family need me to walk for hours to collect water for drinking and cooking each day so I can’t go to school and learn’. I’m acutely aware that the lack of water has a negative impact across so many parts of her daily life; drinking, washing, sanitation, education, agriculture…
Now when my alarm goes off, I groggily realise it’s not the weekend… and I see her face in my mind. I get up and head to work. In my role managing the One brand, I can help to spread the word about this challenge that so many face. I can encourage people to drink One water and juiced drinks and help us change lives. I can share news of the projects we fund that have already changed over 3 million lives by providing clean water.
I’m hopeful that we will continue to make progress in changing the lives of the 663 million people in the world who don’t have access to clean and safe water; including other little girls like ‘mine’. It’s not an option not to.
Who needs a snooze button when there’s an alarming situation like this to change?
