Near the end of each Advent season after Christmas, comes what has become a New Year’s Day tradition in San Clemente, the 4th Annual Polar Bear Plunge for Clean Water for Malawi. As usual, we will again hold this event on Jan. 1, 2012, at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente, CA, at 10 am.

Over the last three years, supporters of this event have given more than $16,500 to help build wells in the rural Nkhoma region of Malawi. These wells have provided protected, fresh water sources supporting more than 400 people with clean water and helping them avoid the water-borne diseases that come from drinking contaminated water.

Every year, more than 1.4 million children die from diseases linked to the lack of access to clean drinking water and another 400,000 die from diarrhea from other causes that clean water would help to save. That totals nearly 5,000 children per day. This is a global problem that requires local solutions.

Our goal this year is to raise enough money to help fund half the cost of a well and raise additional money to assist with residual spraying and nets for malaria prevention in the Nkhoma region. Malaria is also an extreme problem in the region caused by mosquitoes that breed in places like the unprotected water sources. While any amount is welcome and appreciated, we especially encourage pledges in increments of $40 for the well, as each increment given represents the life of one child saved, and either $10 for a single malaria net or $75 for the combination of spraying and nets for a single family’s hut.

We hope you will join us again in this effort by giving at this website. If you can be in the Orange County area on New Year’s Day 2012 at 10 am, come down to Calafia State Beach at the foot of Avenida Calafia in South San Clemente and take a cold swim for the “Warm Heart of Africa” – Malawi.

For more information on the work we continue to do in Malawi, visit www.y-malawi.org or www.facebook.com/ymalawi.

For more information on how replacing just a little bit of Christmas gift giving can save lives around the world by providing access to clean drinking water visit Advent Conspiracy at: www.adventconspiracy.org or http://www.facebook.com/AdventConspiracy.

God bless you and Merry Christmas!
Bret Daniels