Why I Care: Jason Dominy

I have to be honest, the original reason I got involved with Blood:Water Mission was because of my love for the guys in Jars of Clay, and their passion for doing something more rewarding. At that time, I didnʼt have a passion for Africa. I didnʼt really fully know the needs in Africa for clean water, or how complicated the issue was. I knew HIV was a real problem there, but didnʼt know how to help, or what would help. I didnʼt understand what the real needs were. And I didnʼt connect it to my career, yet. I just knew I wanted to support the Jars of Clay guys in what they seemed to be suddenly so passionate about. That was 8 years ago.

But, the more I got involved, volunteering at events, donating, telling other people about it, and watching what the Jars guys were doing with it, I got it. I understood why it was so important to them, and suddenly, it became more important to me. Because Iʼm in the coffee industry. As a 14 year veteran in the coffee world, Iʼve tried to think about the farmers, pickers and processors of the coffee cherries and beans, working to make their lives better physically and financially. I work for one of the leading roasters in the country, who helped start the model of partnering with coffee farmers by building solid relationships, and itʼs always something that drives us. How can we make the lives of those coffee farmers more healthy, physically and financially?

And it hit me, Blood:Water Mission is helping to provide clean water to villages and communities all over Africa, many of which are in coffee-producing areas. Blood:Water is helping provide much needed HIV/AIDS medications to children and parents infected with a disease that provides them little hope to live full lives. Blood:Water is helping take care of the things that Africans in these villages need the most, access to clean water, and medications that extend their lives, providing parents to children, and children to parents. And the fact theyʼre doing this in so many coffee-producing areas means it matters to me on a deeper level.

You see, we in the coffee industry can work harder to help them make more fair wages through certifications, through buying coffee directly through the farmers themselves, but the sad reality is, that if they donʼt have clean water, needed HIV/AIDS medications, weʼre only taking care of one part of their already complex and hard lives. It doesnʼt matter if they finally make a fair wage if the water they drink is making them sick, killing them with disease. And thatʼs where for me, supporting Blood:Water Mission comes full circle. I support Blood:Water Mission because my company and many in our industry are working to help take care of their financial needs, so they have clothes, food, schooling, other basic needs, and Blood:Water helps them further with their other basic needs for clean, disease-free water, and medications that extend their lives.

(I will say, that our company does support two other really good organizations that help with other needs for farmers and their families: Grounds for Health, which works to help prevent and treat cervical cancer for women at coffee farms in Central and South America, and Tanzania, and Coffee Kids, which works predominately in Central and South America, helping create programs in education, health awareness, microcredits, food security and capacity building.)I care, because Iʼve grown to have a real heart for Africa.

Itʼs the birthplace of coffee (Ethiopia), and to this day, produces my favorite coffees every year. A copy of the book "Coffee Story: Ethiopia" sits on my coffee table, with pictures and stories of the people there who make this beautiful coffee. My wife and I have grown a heart for Africa, and have begun the beginning steps of adopting from an orphanage in Uganda, a place many of our friends have graciously adopted children from. Weʼve cried at the sight of African children with no parents, no home, no hope, and little future. Africa has found a nice place in our hearts, and we care because God cares. We are called to take care of the sick, the orphans, the fatherless, the widow. And as long as there is a Blood:Water Mission doing what it does, we will continue to care and support what this amazing organization does.

 Blog post written by: Jason Dominy - Customer Support & Outreach Director at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters and Chair of Barista Guild of America