An ice bucket challenge video that actually teaches about ALS

We’ve all seen a ton of those #icebucketchallenge videos, right? You’ve undoubtedly been affected somehow already. Well, when I was challenged, I couldn’t quite figure out how to respond.

On one hand, I completely support the idea of raising awareness and money to find this disease. I love how the greater community has come together in support for all who are affected by ALS.

On the other hand, I had just come off a weekend with no water, after our local water supply was contaminated (as in: it came out of the faucet looking more like mud and less like water) and the city shut it down for a few days.

No big deal, right?

But it is: millions of people in Nicaragua and billions more around the world live without clean drinking water on a regular basis. In fact, our neighborhood only has water for a few hours a day. The only reason our house has access longer is because we have two big tanks that fill up when the city water is running. Plenty of our neighbors don’t have those tanks. The result is when the water is out, it’s really out.

FACT: Every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness [Read more about the global water crisis here.]

And so there has been this tension in my head over the idea of dumping a bucket of water over my head just to avoid raising money for a good cause, without being insensitive to those right outside my door without a reliable source of clean water.

Upon talking it over with others here in Nicaragua, I found I wasn’t alone in dealing with that tension. My friend Erinn was especially stuck on the idea that the silly videos do very little to raise any actual awareness of the disease, even if they have raised millions for the cause. But, she wanted to try to make a difference somehow.

So after she was challenged, she set out to make a video that did a better job of raising awareness. I think her response is brilliant, because it did something none of the other videos have been able to do: actually teach me something about ALS.

ALS Video Response

Finally! So proud of my friend Erinn, who is also a missionary in Nicaragua, for creating this ice bucket challenge video that actually teaches about ALS.