We couldn't imagine life without water. But some live it.
We, the Be the Change team of William E Hay Composite High School, are hosting a community wide international fundraiser in conjunction with Free the Children. Specifically we are focusing on clean water.
Under the United Nations guidelines, water must be sufficient, safe, acceptable, affordable and accessible. In other terms; water must be available between 50/100 L per person per day (cooking, cleaning, drinking etc), water must be safe from bacterial organisms and radioactive material, it must have an acceptable colour, odour and taste, if paying for the water-the total cost must not exceed more than 3% of the household income, the facilities from which water is collated must be culturally appropriate and sensitive to gender, lifestyle and privacy, water must be within 1000 m of a household, and should not exceed more than 30 minutes to collect.
Sadly, this is not the case. In third world countries, an average of 10L or less is what most citizens live on, and the diseases found in these small quantities of water are the world's second largest killers (3.5 million people). The average distance for women and children to collect the water is six kilometres away, and often located in regions dangerous due to gender. It is estimated that an average 884 million people live more than one kilometre away from a water source, and those who live further away are often sustained on 5L or less per person per day.
There are 1.1 billion people in the world who lack sufficient water.
This is 2015.
How is this still acceptable?
We wish to change this. Our initiative is to challenge the community to raise enough money to build a well ($5000) and help ten families have enough supplies to carry the water ($125 per family).
Our running dates are February 13-March 31. Donations can be made at the high school office, or mailed to the high school if addressed to Free the Children. Tax receipts are available upon request.
As of April 15, 2015, our total stands at just over $3000!! That is incredible!! Thank you to all of our wonderful donors and sponsors! You are all amazing!
As well, we have some new plans coming out with this project soon! Make sure you stay informed on our Facebook Page to see all of the details!
Don't forget to check us out on Facebook!
Or on Twitter! And use the hashtag #StettlerWellChallenge!
Or send us an email at wembethechange@gmail.com
If you are interested, check out Free the Children for more information on all of the projects they have!
