Global Clean Water, Revisited

This story follows up on Team Leadership’s previous story about Donovan Bailey’s Global Clean Water Project.

Everything started for Donovan Bailey with a Game In The World called Global Clean Water, created during his first year on Landmark Education’s Team Management and Leadership Program, from November 2007 to November 2008. He joined Team 2 in June 2010, waiting that long between programs as  he had spent 14 months in India. “I think it was part of my journey to really live with people in their villages and live the way they live. That is where I found peace, love and compassion for all people.” Donovan explained.

The possibility for his game is to bring education to children about the water they share in the world and his outcome is that everyone on the planet has access to clean water.

Donovan remembered: “I had been trekking high in the Indian mountains and on my descent an overwhelming epiphany hit me, causing me to fall to my knees and cry. Before this moment I had felt as if I had not found my full purpose in this life. During my trip to India I came across so many remote villages full of beautiful families and children and a shocking shortage of one real necessity: WATER! From that moment on, I vowed to spend my life committed to bringing water to those who need it most” Donovan shared.

During my time in India, I was at a music festival In Ladakh, called ‘Little Tibet’, in the very north part of India. I had sponsored the water resource station at this music festival which celebrates music, art heritage, culture and nature. It rained one of the festival days, and I found myself in a tent talking to another motorcycle enthusiast, a woman from Australia, named Anna Van Riel. Of course the conversation turned toward my passion for providing clean water to everyone on the planet and my Game In the World, Global Clean Water.

As part of Global Clean Water, in order to reach the children, Donovan, created a water character named Mr. H2O who is friendly and teaches how to take care of this precious resource. Mr. H2O captured Anna’s creative spirit.

“I want to create something with you”, Anna enthusiastically volunteered. As a result she has written three songs specifically for Global Clean Water; one by the name of Mr. H2O another is Dirty Water Blues and the third is Rockabilly Water Wheel.  For the song Mr. H2O, Anna states: “we used sound effects like toilets flushing, water gurgling, sinks draining and babies laughing.”

“She really stepped up and has been a true inspiration in our project by creating a song book for children and an Album for children to understand the water issues in the world”, Donovan continued with emotion.

On August 11, 2010 the North Coast Entertainment Industry Association announced that the winner of the 2010 Dolphin Award in the Category of Music for Children was Anna Van Riel with her song Mr. H2O.

“During the last few months I have been playing a Team 2 game; really causing the Global Clean Water leadership of my team members and forwarding their games. With Anna, the experience of causing her leadership, was truly spectacular and that is just one of the people I have on my team globally. I also have a cartoonist who is in Israel, an international Law Firm that represents us pro bono out of London, a graphic designer out of India, a film maker in Seattle. We have School House Rock, an organization in San Francisco taking on writing short stories for the game. Here in San Diego, someone is creating a board game for children to learn about the water cycle. There are also videographers, a consultant group, and a publicist, all inspired about Mr. H2O”.

“Why the focus on children? The reason I chose children is that children are in the development stage of their life. We as adults are stuck in our learned behavior previously brought about when we were growing up. Children are developing and if we can subtly, in their development stage, give them access to information in a new way, there is possibility and access to a new way of being. Visioning water as a precious resource rather than a commodity that is easy to gain access to by the turning of a tap, can allow children to begin to have insight into other countries on our planet, where children do not have this water luxury, and families do not have access to water in their homes. It is only 47% of the people in the world who have access to water in their home” Donovan elaborated.

The way Global Clean Water teaches children to take care of water is through Mr. H2O’s adventures, he speaks with other characters on his travels in the world, characters like the monkey and the giraffe, an old dog, a cow, a mosquito and other animals. Mr. H2O also encounters friends in the ocean; fish and turtles. Mr. H2O tells stories to the children of the impact of conservation, the water cycle, how it works, and how people pollute their current water sources. Teaching children a new way of using water for themselves, like when they are brushing their teeth, using the shower or taking a bath, flushing the toilet, watering the grass and washing the car on the lawn with their father allows them to see how much water we use without even thinking about it. It allows children an insight into possibilities of other ways.

To learn more about Global Clean Water and hear some songs, including the award winning song, visit the musical corner and listen to the songs at www.annavanriel.com kid’s stuff.

Written by MariMar Covarrubias. Edited by Shash Broxson.