Today’s Three Minutes a Day reflection from The Christophers is entitled “Simple Pottery, Saved Lives,” and it takes a look at Ron Rivera, a potter from the Bronx who worked to help purify water in a number of undeveloped countries:
“Bronx-born inventor and volunteer Ron Rivera likened his ceramic water filters to ‘weapons of biological mass destruction.’ And in a way, that is what they were.
“For 25 years, Rivera went to the poorest villages of Latin America, Africa and Asia teaching local potters to fashion an ingenious water-purifying device out of terra-cotta. A recent study in Cambodia found that Rivera’s filters cut the incidence of diarrhea (the leading cause of death in the third world) in half. Rivera said, ‘you put dirty water in, gray water that many communities still drink, and it comes out crystal clear.’
“Rivera himself died from a dangerous form of malaria while establishing a water-filter factory in Nigeria.
“Service can involve risk, even danger, but mostly it means putting one’s own needs aside so as to help others. How far are you willing to go to serve others in Jesus’ name?
“I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink. (Matthew 25:35)”
For more information about Ron Rivera, please visit:
Wikipedia: Ron Rivera (public health)
Potters Without Borders: Ron Rivera
For more information about the filters Rivera worked with, please visit:
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