Comparing cultures...wasting water

Last night, Mark and I did our turn volunteering on the rota for the Youth for Christ bus which we take onto the quay in Kingsbridge to be a safe presence for the young people hanging around the town. 

When it's cold we usually serve hot chocolate but last night we had some bottles of water in case anyone needed one.  Two young lads asked for a bottle and we gave them one each.  Shortly afterwards, we saw them tipping the contents of the bottles onto the ground and then throwing the bottles. 

I can't begin to say how angry and sad it made me when I compared this act with what we have recently seen and experienced in Uganda.  There, the children and young people spend much of their free time walking long distances to fetch water (sometimes not very potable) for their families and every drop is precious.  Here, the youngsters are so blasé about water that they can just take free bottles that someone else has provided and waste it, then litter the ground with the containers. 

I pray that none of us will ever take clean drinking water for granted and will realise how precious it is and that one day those boys will understand how blessed they really are.