in the numbers...

My family-yes, you Mayes lot, have a 'thing' for numbers...seriously-my brother is an accountant/financial planner (need I say more?), my dad (out loud) can figure out the number of square feet of siding a wall needs just by looking at it.  Counting things (Mom and sister), timing things, percentages, you name it we do it-we see it as a gift :)  As for me-well yes, I will admit I time every run, time every trip into town, and used to time how long it would take to fill up a halluk (tray to hold raspberries) with berries-back in the day. I also have been known to count waves as they crash the shore in front of my house- in some places, as soon as I walk in the door if a ceiling has square panels I start counting them-and don't even get me started on finding patterns within equations...don't shake your head-it's a gift!


But let's get serious about some numbers concerning WASH and Literacy in Liberia.  However, don't see them as just 'stats' or 'numbers' see them as people...

• 6 out of 10 Women in Liberia CANNOT read/write
• 70% of Liberians DO NOT have access to safe sanitation facilities
• Women have access to education only 1/2 as much as men
• 4 out of 10 rural Liberians lack access to clean water
• 55% of Liberians CANNOT read/write (Men/Women)
• 1 out of every 10 deaths in Lofa county (a county in Liberia where we work) is the result of diarrhea.
• 4% of Women in Liberia can read a full sentence,  Only 4%!!!!!!!!

Chew on those numbers for a bit, and just for kicks look up the country where you live -what is the literacy rate?  What percentage of people die from WASH related diseases?  I don't want this blog to make you feel guilty, that is not my purpose, as I stated before my purpose is to bring awareness and support to the Literacy and WASH projects that SP Liberia is doing.  It will change people's lives-really it will.


Training-keeping with the title, this week I ran 7 miles on Sat. and 8 on Sunday.  Averaging 9-9:45 min/mile.  I am starting to work on my pace-meaning I want to be able to know what it 'feels' like to run consistent 9:30min/miles for 13 miles (I am pretty sure it will FEEL painful!), but also to know when to increase my pace or decrease it as needed throughout 26.2 miles.  I also have a heart monitor I wore for the first time-my watch is synchronized with it-so I can take a quick peek at my heart rate whenever I want...great another number I can obsess with...


Future blog entries:  Interviews with the awesome women who manage these two programs and stories of people impacted by WASH/CLP projects.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/spuk