OXFAM WATER WEEK Introductory slideshow

OXFAM WATER WEEK Assembly: Water Week In this assembly we’ll learn about the importance of water. We’ll find out what it means to be water-vulnerable and think about what the symptoms and causes of water vulnerability are. Finally we’ll learn about ways in which you can take action to support water-vulnerable communities in other countries around the world. Photo: A young boy collects water in a village in Azerbaijan, David Levene/Oxfam

No! DOES WATER MATTER? Can anyone survive without water? We all need water to live… … and not just any water We all need safe, clean water. Question 1: Can anyone survive without water? Answer: No! Water is recognised as a basic human right. ‘The right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.’ United Nations, 2010 But this basic human right is denied to many people. 900 million people still don’t have access to safe, clean water. That’s 15 times the number of people in the UK. 2.6 billion people live without acceptable sanitation. That’s over 40 times the number of people in the UK. Sanitation = getting rid of dirty water and waste. For example, sewers are needed to remove waste from toilets. Data source: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

DOES WATER MATTER? cleaning drinking washing cooking removing waste (sanitation) growing food Question 2: What do we need water for? Ask learners for suggestions. Can they think of any more ideas other than those mentioned above? We need water to drink, wash ourselves, clean things, eat, cook and have time to live! Think how hard your life would be if you had to spend hours getting water every day. Photo: A farmer in Niger waters the food in her garden, Fatoumate Diabate/Oxfam

WATER FACTS To drink per day? To grow your food? In the UK people use… = 5 litres To drink per day? 2-4 litres per day To grow your food? 2000-5000 litres per day! In the UK people use… 150 litres per day (each) In many countries people still have access to less than… 20 litres per day (each) Over 7 times less A typical bucket holds five litres of water. You might like to hold up an actual bucket at this point to show learners. Question 3: How much water do you use each day? To drink per day? To grow your food? The average person in the UK uses about 150 litres per day. That’s about 30 buckets of water or 2 full baths. In many countries, people still have access to less than 20 litres of clean water a day… That’s less than 4 buckets of water per day. Ask learners whether they think they could survive with only that much water. Data source: United Nations Development Program – Human Development Report 2006 : http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=757

WHAT DOES WATER-VULNERABLE MEAN? Without clean water and sanitation, you are water- vulnerable. What do you think this word means? Using your time to find water. Not enough water to drink. Not able to grow enough food. Question 4: Ask learners what they think water-vulnerable means? Answer: If you are water-vulnerable it means you are at risk or in danger because of something to do with water. Like any problem, water vulnerability has symptoms and causes… Symptoms are what you see or experience when you are water-vulnerable. Causes are those things that are making water vulnerability happen. Photo: Untreated water collected from a reservoir, Jane Beesley At risk of disease.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF WATER VULNERABILITY? Conflict… Poor infrastructure… Question 5: Ask learners what they think are some of the causes of water vulnerability? Conflict In Syria there has been a conflict. People have had to move to displacement camps to escape the fighting. Photo: Caroline Gluck/Oxfam Poor infrastructure Poor infrastructure is where a community lacks the basic physical and organisational structures it needs for access to safe, clean water. For example there could be insufficient water pipes, pumps, filtration and treatment equipment. Photo: Alun McDonald/Oxfam Natural disasters In 2013 Super-Typhoon Haiyan hit central Philippines. Infrastructure was destroyed and people were evacuated. Photo: Vincent Malasador/Oxfam Question 6: Why do learners think these factors cause water vulnerability? Natural disasters…

WHAT CAN BE DONE? Communities work hard to overcome these problems themselves. However sometimes they need some support. Communities work hard to overcome these problems themselves. However sometimes they need some support. Photo: Farmers in Liberia working hard to dig their fields, Kieran Doherty/Oxfam

WHAT CAN BE DONE? Oxfam works in partnership with international and local organisations and communities to enable people to lift themselves out of poverty, often using their existing knowledge and expertise. Photo: Farmers in Liberia are starting to grow rice in fields irrigated by Oxfam, Kieran Doherty/Oxfam Oxfam works with water-vulnerable communities to try to overcome water problems.

HOW? By doing things to help straight away, for example by providing: water trucks Sometimes communities need support in emergencies. Oxfam helps people meet their short-term needs as a result of unexpected disasters and crises. South Sudan became an independent state in 2011 but the United Nations estimates that there are still over 500,000 people displaced by the conflict within the country. Oxfam has supported communities by building or repairing water points closer to their homes. For example new boreholes have been drilled to provide consistent access to water, all year round. boreholes wells

HOW? talking to politicians By doing things to help people in the future, for example: strengthening communities providing hygiene education Oxfam also supports communities by helping them to build long-term solutions. For example, in South Sudan water management committees have been set up in villages to ensure good management of water supplies and maintenance of water points. Villagers (many of them women) have also been trained as community health promoters. They work in their communities to promote good health and hygiene practices. Other people have been trained to become village pump mechanics to that they can take responsibility for repairing water pumps when needed, helping to ensure long-term safe water supplies. talking to politicians

IT’S UP TO YOU... Decide what you want to do to make a difference… …and how you want to do it. Oxfam Water Week is a chance for us to learn more about why water problems exist, think about what can be done to tackle these problems and then to act by doing something in response to what we have learned.   If you are a learner presenting this slideshow, you might like to insert more slides at the end with your ideas for the actions you would like to take during Water Week.