Everyone needs to know where their water comes from and where it goes after it is used… do you?
Water for Life … empowering today for a sustainable tomorrow

Water for Life … empowering today for a sustainable tomorrow

Water is life. This is not just a catchy phrase. Our planet is blue because 70 per cent of the Earth is covered by water, yet of this seemingly huge amount of water, about 97% is in the oceans and 2% is locked up in glaciers and icecaps and is hidden underground as groundwater. The remaining 1% of the Earth’s water is fresh for drinking and has been available to humans, animals and all other forms of life for all of time.

Yet, in today’s world the water that has always existed is seriously at risk. Increasing and unsustainable industrial and agricultural use and waste dumping into waterways, combined with poor sanitary and deteriorating environmental conditions in the most vulnerable communities, exact a high health toll on children, particularly in rural areas, hindering both social and economic development.

When disasters such as earthquakes, floods or droughts happen, the most deadly health risks are insufficient or unsafe drinking water, drowning*, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

What can be done by children and young people?

Children and young people can take action to make sure the water is safe when it comes out of the pump or tap and that underground and surface water resources are protected and preserved. The Earthchild Institute supports many actions, projects and technologies to help make sure that this happens, including water quality monitoring, watershed remediation, rainwater harvesting, solar water disinfection, slow sand filtration and other participatory solutions.

They are great agents for change and can teach their parents how to keep the water that they collect safe when bringing it home as well as to learn how to treat their water at home before drinking (ie: to boil the water, filter it or use chemicals) to make sure it is safe to drink.

We believe that practical knowledge about where our water comes from and how to keep water safe for drinking is something that EVERYONE on Earth should know. As the climate changes and water resource availability unexpectedly diminishes in some places and floods in others, we firmly believe that every child, in developed and developing countries need this information and to develop these abilities to adapt.

For more information, contact us today.