Water is an everyday convenience, something that most Americans have never given a second thought. However, for some countries such as Haiti, still recovering from the traumatic earthquake two years ago, the lack of water has been a daily burden. Thanks to ONE DROP, a charitable organization, which develops access-to-water and sanitation projects in impoverished countries around the world, safe, clean water has now become an attainable reality for many Haitians.
Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, created ONE DROP. Headquartered in Montreal, this international organization has a unique approach focusing on the arts. ONE DROP implements education and adapted solutions for access to healthy water.
Now more than 160 family wells and more than 1,500 meters of field irrigation canals have been built and rehabilitated with the goal of improving the yield of the next agricultural campaigns.
Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil has delighted fans across the world. Dedicated to building a better world, the company and its employees have created “7 Days for a Better World,” an awareness program with a focus on World Water Day (March 22).
Select Cirque du Soleil shows will donate $5 to ONE DROP for each ticket purchased for shows March 19-25.
ONE DROP’s executive director, Lili-Anna Peresa, explains, “Water is essential to all life. And it starts with just ONE DROP. With access to safe water, communities can learn, build and flourish.”
Peresa said ONE DROP helped mobilize communities all over the world to access clean water and urged them to adopt sound habits for managing this precious resource for future generations.
“Worldwide, ONE DROP’s ongoing creative projects also raise awareness about water-related issues and encourage smarter water practices,” she said. “Together, we have the power and responsibility to take action, in global solidarity.”
“7 days for a better World” was developed as a source of fundraising for ONE DROP, a crucial activity if it is to realize ONE DROP’s dream of water for all, today and tomorrow.
“I am proud to be part of this important mission, and I truly believe that we can achieve it by working all together,” Peresa said.
If you haven’t had the chance to see Cirque du Soleil’s Santa Monica show “OVO,” this is the time to go. “OVO” is the first Cirque du Soleil show to be directed by a female – Deborah Colker, who offers a satirical inside look to the insect world where insects interact with each other in hilarious ways.
As with most of the Cirque du Soleil shows, due to improvisation each performance changes based on the audience. Some fans go back two and three times to enjoy the spectacle of this lively often ad-libbed, yet acrobatically brilliant show.
If you’d like to see “OVO” and are interested in supporting ONE DROP, be sure to buy tickets, during the week of March 19 to 25 for a performance scheduled that week.
For more information, visit www.onedrop.org or www.cirquedusoleil.com/OVO
