Nicaragua: Share a shelter

One day recently while scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I noticed an abundance of uploaded videos from various friends of mine, and each video showcased a person dumping a bucket of ice water over him or herself in an effort to raise awareness and money for the ALS Foundation. The "Ice Bucket Challenge," as it has become popularly known, has without a doubt taken the world by storm, as everyone from ordinary people to celebrities and political leaders across various nations have completed it. I have even seen other Peace Corps volunteers successfully take on the challenge.

Sounds like fun. In fact, I know of other fundraisers that involve jumping into a freezing-cold lake (Polar Plunge, anybody?) People love that kind of stuff. The only difference is: the lake water is already there.

Before I get critical, let me clarify that I am not against the spread of awareness for this disease and an increase in funds donated to this organization (but I do hope it is allocated wisely to research finding a cure). The issues I have are the following: 

1. A significant portion of the world is currently experiencing a drought, so dumping buckets of water on our heads seems quite ignorant and insensitive towards our friends who may not have enough water to get by on a daily basis.

2. When we do get to shower here in Nicaragua, it is one-temperature-serves-all, and that temperature is cold. So what people are screaming and hollering about for 10 seconds with the Ice Bucket Challenge is just a common, everyday experience for those of us elsewhere who simply want to bathe.

3. I am sure the folks at ALS are wise money-spenders, but does everybody who has donated know or care how their money will be spent? Do they know that not 100% of their donation will go directly towards research?

4. Did everyone who doused themselves with ice water actually make a donation, or did they just dump ice over their heads to gain attention on social media?

If you did or did not participate in this Ice Bucket Phenomenon, I love you still the same. My point here is that everyone puts on their thinking caps when it comes to joining the "fun" in donating to X, Y, and Z organizations. 

And on that note, I invite you to read more about an upcoming project that I have in the works here with the Small Business Development team. Click here to discover more, and make a donation if you feel so moved.  I won't ask you to dump a bucket of ice water on yourself, but I will encourage you to consider making a financial contribution to an event which will significantly impact the lives of Nicaraguan youth. Much thanks.