The beauty of being organized and having a plan is that you can go really fast, accomplish a lot and make yourself proud... Except when your plan fails with unpredictability invading your perfect little world.

I am not talking about spilling coffee on yourself. But more like having no water to make the coffee to begin with. No water to brush your teeth. No water to put your contact lenses in, in order to find both the tooth brush and the coffee cup, at 4:30 AM in the morning, as you get yourself ready for an early meeting.

This happened to me two weeks ago on an otherwise beautiful Wednesday. I woke up and stumbled to the kitchen to boil water for my morning coffee, but no water came out from the tap. I checked bathroom sink - same. It was too early to get angry, so I found it puzzling instead. Calling my apartment complex at that hour was obviously worthless, so I checked my emails and saw a message from around midnight, notifying me of a busted pipe and immidiate water cut-off. How timely.

After some more stumbling around the apartment, submerged in early-morning coffee-lacking confusion, I finally got an idea to go to the local LA Fitness and use their shower. I gathered everything I needed and headed out. After a quick run on the treadmill (I might as well, since I'm at the gym!) I found myself in a warm shower thinking about how lucky I am to have this option. To have ANY option for a shower. A warm shower. To be able to stop at the grocery store on my way back and get a few gallons of perfectly clean drinking water, throwing it in the back of my car, not having to worry about carrying its weight on my shoulders for miles. How lucky.

Yes, it messed up my morning routine and put me 45 min behind schedule, but it was nothing more than an inconvenience.

While enjoying the warm water in the gym shower, I also thought of the interview I heard some time before with Scott Harrison - a founder of charity: water. Scott really has an amazing story to tell - you can watch a video if you are curious. He also created an amazing company that changed lives of 7 million people already! And they are just now getting started...When I got out of the shower, I immediately made a donation to the cause.

My water was back on that evening. I was unusually excited to wash the dishes, do the laundry, and was grateful for this newfound sense of appreciation for something I had access to my whole life.

But that was not the end.

***

A week later another water crisis happened.

This time I voluntarily made it to the gym with no adventures, and as I was finishing up the spin class, I started noticing worried faces and hearing about "water main break on Buford Highway." The gym soon closed, as did most other public facilities in DeKalb and several other counties in the area. I rushed home - I live in the same county - praying to get there in time for shower. I was drenched in sweat and brainstorming ideas for Plan B, C and D of where am I going to get ready for work if my water was already cut off.

The shower worked - THANK GOD! - and it was the quickest shower I EVER took! I kept thinking I will run out of water any second, and wondered what would I do if that happened while I was covered in soap bubbles. But I got lucky and made it through. Alive. So whatever was in that water could not take me down that day:).

The reality check came afterwords, when several county went into water boil advisory. Coffee shops and restaurants closed. So did schools, and many other local businesses. The traffic was off. Hospitals were especially effected. Have you ever thought about performing a surgery or doing any other kind of hospital procedure, when you have to boil water or only use bottles? I don't think I ever considered the logistics of that before. Needless to say it was a challenge.

Water boil advisory went on for several days. And so did the mild chaos.

This made me look at water in a different way. Again. We have grown to rely so much on our water systems and water accessibility, that we don't have a full line of sight into everything water allows us to do. The logistics happen behind the scenes. It is seamless. Until it's not. And then we learn that EVERYTHING runs on water - hospitals, public facilities, food industry, cosmetics - because behind all of that are people like you and me. And we need water to survive. We are water.

While gaining even stronger sense of gratitude and appreciation for this vital resource, I could not stop thinking about others for whom lack of access to clean water is a gloomy constant. I kept surfing through charity: water info and grew more and more restless.

“663 million people in the world live without clean water.”

— World Health Organization

I could not believe it. That’s nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide. Or, TWICE the population of the United States. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend HOURS every day walking to collect water for their family and carry it on their backs.

We get pissed if we have to wait extra 2 minutes in the line!!! And they spend hours? carrying water???

This especially affects girls, who have to stay home for a week every month once they hit puberty due to the lack of sanitation in schools. It puts them significantly behind in their education and drastically limits their future opportunities.

Not only does walking for water keep children out of school or takes up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick.

“Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.”

How about that? Or how about the fact that 43% of those deaths are children under five years old? It's almost half! Access to clean water and basic sanitation can save around 16,000 lives every week. Every week. I just could not sit still.

Water is life. It is health. It is education. It is wellbeing. It is success. It is happiness. It is also beauty.

I read many personal stories of people who were able to gain access to clean water thanks to charity: water. Many women said they could now feel beautiful. It stuck with me. When you have to carry on your back the water for your whole family, from long distances, you have to prioritize how to utilize it. Drinking, cooking, attending to the needs of the children... Attending to your personal hygiene, taking a shower, or enjoying a salt bath with some lavender oil is not exactly at the top of the priority list...

I have the luxury of washing my hair every day, and when I don't - I feel it. I am sure many women can relate. Morning showers make me feel clean, refreshed, and so does brushing my teeth. So yes - water absolutely makes me feel beautiful, and I didn't even know it till now. But what if I had to wash myself with the water on the left? Or drink it?

Long story short I felt compelled to do something. Anything. So I started a campaign.

#ILikeCleanWater

Because I really do.

I have committed to run 15 miles on Earth Day weekend - April 21, 2018 to raise awareness about the water issues. My goal is to raise $525 and change lives of 15 individuals by giving them access to clean water for the first time in their lives.

I am also giving up coffee until I do that. Coffee was the first thing I was unable to have when I ran into this water crisis. Abstaining from coffee will help me remember why I am doing this. I will drink water instead until then.

Finally, I am partnering with my beautiful friend and amazingly talented photographer Kari Ruff - she has allowed me to use her artwork on social media, as we work to bring awareness to the pressing issue and raise funds fro the campaign. You will see many beautiful shots from her on my Instagram and FB feed.

I hope you will join me in whatever way you can. You can learn more about show your support here.