Saskatchewan Roughrider Shawn Bane Jr. – on the injured list so far this season – had the opportunity to do something outside the game which he said will always be remembered.
Bane Jr., a World Vision Canada (WVC) ambassador, recently travelled to Kenya during the off-season to witness firsthand the challenges faced by those who don’t have access to clean water.
The CFL and WVC are collaborating to raise awareness of global water scarcity and its impact on the worldwide community. Every seven hours, a child’s life is saved thanks to WVC’s water, sanitation and hygiene programs, and World Vision’s upcoming Rhythms of Change campaign seeks to inspire Canadians to join the movement for universal access to clean water.
“It was an absolute blast,” Bane Jr. told Yorkton This Week in a recent interview, adding he went into the trip not really sure what to expect.
What he found was a trip that was very eye-opening.
“It was a pretty unique experience,” said Bane Jr..
Bane Jr. said it was not always easy seeing some of the hardships faced by people there often over things we take for granted.
“That was definitely the difficult part . . . you want to help them all,” he said.
It also created an element of self-reflection on what we just take for granted.
“It gave a different perspective – how spoiled we are,” said Bane Jr., pointing to how we turn on a tap and they have to haul their water “a necessity of life.”
Globally, at least two billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and six in 10 diarrhea-related deaths are attributed to unsafe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation.
Bane Jr. said that was really what the trip was about, raising awareness of the hardships faced, with the hope people consider helping change things.
“That’s the goal with the platform; getting the story out to as many people as we can,” he said, adding the message is a simple one “they need help.”
Certainly for Bane Jr. the trip moved him.
“For me it will definitely be lasting. I’ll never forget this trip. It’s hard to put into words . . . It was so humbling,” he said.
The Roughriders have Bane Jr. signed to a two-year contract extension through the current season.
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