A new world is not only possible, she is on her way.  On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.  Arundhati Roy

My dear friends
Another year has come and gone, and A Single Drop still continues to define my journey....2008 was an amazing year in so many ways, for me, for ASD, for the US, and for the world. There is a change in the air that has rippled through and renewed my spirit despite the desperation, poverty and economic downturn and it's effects I have seen first hand. And it's not so much things like training a community to install a new water pump supplying 100s of people with water in Zambales, Philippines; or assisting grassroots women to build a rainwater catchment and tank at a school in Kitui, Kenya; or even the election of a new president that has inspired me. It has been the change in my view of the world as no longer in an irreversible state of broken-ness, but in a profound state of healing that has brought me to a place of relentlessness.  There is much work to do, and I now actually believe it can be done. It's time to rewrite our story.
I have only come to this place of resilience because of our amazing staff for without them, my hopes would simply be delusion. This year, ASDs mission brought me back to the Philippines and into Africa to expand our work.  In the Philippines, Kevin Lee, my partner in the Echoing Green Fellowship who is truly living up to the title of "Best Emerging Social Entrepreneur" and whose leadership and savvy has led A Single Drop for SafeWater, our Philippines office and our staff of seven Philippine Nationals to become a recognized and respected hub of water expertise in the country. Our new staff member, Mariah Klingsmith, Africa Program Manager, who is now traveling throughout 7 countries in the continent expanding our Women WaterKeepers program empowering women and orphans to have access to appropriate technologies, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education, and sustainable strategies to alleviate their burdens that are associated around lack of access to water. 
With their tireless and self-less dedication, ASD has been able to have such an amazing impact in such a short time.  Our goal of creating self-reliant water organizations that are income-generating and have the capacity to resolve their own water issues is being realized!  Here are just a few of our milestones...
-  In the Philippines, ASDs trainings have helped over 25,000 people have access to safewater in less than 2 years
- A Single Drop for SafeWater in the Philippines reached it's goal of becoming financially self-sustaining in it's 2nd year of operation
- At least 500 people have been trained, 8 of 20 organizations have become micro-businesses, and 3 have become training organizations themselves
- ASD sponsored a training and pilot project with TIOS AIDS Orphan Safety Center in Chimoio, Mozambique to establish a BioSand Filter micro-business for the Center
- ASD co-organized an innovative African Women and Water Conference endorsed by Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate 2005, who gave our closing speech.  Along with Crabgrass, Groots Kenya and Women's Earth Alliance, we sponsored and trained 30 grassroots women from 7 countries in Africa in business and proposal development, WASH Education and appropriate water technologies that they could implement back in their communities.  So far, in less than 6 months, ASD has helped 5 teams of women launch water projects  installing rain catchment systems, introducing WASH education and assisting them to create water committees in their communities.  If you want to know more about what we've done, click here to view our year in pictures!
These ripples and waves could only have been built through collaboration and cooperation. We are rewriting our story and helping those we work with to rewrite theirs. Instead of waiting for their government, or a non-profit organization, or a wealthy investor to come and fix their water issues, our local partners are now feeling empowered to build their resilience and take on the issue themselves. Relationships with their neighbors, their government, their earth, their water must be strengthened in order for this change to occur. 
This holiday season I will be spending with my family, for the first time in over 5 years! I just reunited with my dearest friends from Elementary School and have committed to revisiting those relationships that I have taken for granted on this odyssey. 
My prayer for you this holiday season is to be fully engaged, enthralled and in gratitude for all those who have shaped who you are. My commitment to you is to reconnect with the spirit of who I was when I met every single one of you, and to recognize how you have influenced my path. Thank you for staying with me in my heart for all these years, although we may not have been able to be in such good touch. I hope our paths may sometime cross again, but until then, may your story be always filled with joy and love.....

In solidarity
Gemma