Student from the Francisco Morazán de Jesús Educational Center in Otoro Intibucá using water to take care of plants. “Water is useful to water the plants of my school.”
March 22nd is World Water Day!
This year’s World Water Day theme is valuing water. For more than 22 years, PWW has focused on empowering people, living in underserved communities, to gain sustainable access to this most precious, basic necessity for life. For PWW, the value of water for the families and communities served is simple: it’s life. Safe water is the foundation for good health, new hope, and provides the key to opening doors to life’s future.
PWW partner, CAWST, recently asked PWW team member, Xenia Castellanos, PWW Lead Facilitator in Honduras, how she values water. Here is what Xenia shared:
1. What is the benefit of water for you and your family?
My family and I consider water as one of the most essential elements to stay healthy. It helps us to quench our thirst, to do all that we do at home. It hydrates us and makes us strong.
2. What does water mean for the communities you work with?
Water for my community means: health and life. It is a crucial resource to satisfy their basic needs. Not only to drink, but also to carry out household activities such as: cooking, washing, cleaning, drinking, watering, amongst others.
3. What is the biggest water challenge you want to solve?
That the communities are supplied with this vital liquid; that they do not have to transport water from very distant places and avoid conflicts between communities that have water and those that do not; that they use water for safe consumption; and that is essential in the hygienic practices of families.
4. How has the value of water changed amid COVID?
The value of water in the midst of Covid 19 has changed significantly. People are aware of the value of water in times of Covid-19 due to the recommendations about having clean and safe water in the home to carry out hygiene practices both at home and on a personal level (i.e. hand-washing). It is a protector of health.
5. Complete this sentence: I value water because…
I value water, because it is an invaluable treasure.
Beautiful phrases for water:
- We will never recognize the value of water until the well is dry. – Thomas Fuller
- If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in water. – Loren Eiseley
- A drop of water is worth more than a bag of gold to a thirsty man. – Unknown author
The PWW Training team also asked these questions of teacher, Suyapa Valladares, at the Suazo Córdova School in Comayagüela, Honduras.
1. What is the benefit of water for you and your family?
To maintain our life, because without water we cannot live. In my home I can do housework, prepare food, clean our bodies and water our plants.
2. What does water mean for the communities you work with?
Teacher Valladares’ students demonstrate how they use clean water.
Health and life is a crucial resource to satisfy their needs, and not only for drinking, but also for household activities such as: cooking, washing, cleaning, drinking, watering, among others. It means cleaning, since we have more than 600 students and they need water to clean the toilets, clean the school environment and for children to wash their hands with plenty of water and soap before and after going to the school bathroom. Also with the problem of the pandemic, it is necessary to have this vital liquid.
3. What is the biggest water challenge you want to solve?
Avoid the contamination of water sources, which nature has given us, such as rivers, lakes, seas, and lagoons. It has gotten out of control with the problem of dumping garbage and polluting these resources. It is challenging to change people’s minds so that they do not dump their garbage into water sources.
4. How has the value of water changed amid COVID?
Monetarily speaking, we have experienced a rise in the price of water. This is because it is used more frequently in homes. It is also of great value because people use it to wash hands more often during the day.
5. Complete this sentence: I value water because…
Because I value life.
Here are a couple photos of students demonstrating the importance of clean, safe water at their school, Jesús de Otoro Intibucá. Thank you to Maria Luisa Ventura, Director of CEB Francisco Morazán de Jesús de Otoro, for sharing the photos and quotes!
Student at Jesús de Otoro Intibucá School. “Drinking clean and safe water is health.” (photo by Licda)
Student at Jesús de Otoro Intibucá School practicing hand washing. “Without water my hands would not be clean and I could get sick.”
How do YOU value water? This World Water Day, join PWW in celebration of water and the powerful, invaluable role it plays in life.
In celebration of World Water Day 2021, PWW is hosting a virtual auction: H2O = Health, Hope & Opportunity. This online shopping experience will not only provide participants with online shopping access to unique items, but the funds raised will go directly toward providing this invaluable, precious resource to children and their families who are currently living without. The auction will take place March 18-22, with the link to the auction going live on March 13. Be sure to follow PWW on social media to stay up-to-date on all of the details!
You can have a sneak peek of the auction by clicking here.