HomeAbout UsTeachersParishesCommunitiesEducationContact UsHelp
 
This fortnight's thi>eWater is Life Issue 127
 
 


Water Is Life

The most precious liquid

Nelson Mandela, the former first President of a new Democratic South Africa, states "let there be work, bread, water and salt for all". He makes it sound so easy, and it is. But why are there millions of people on this planet who go without the most basic resources that many take for granted?

Water is essential for health, food production and poverty reduction, but it is a finite and vulnerable resource. It is estimated that by 2025, four billion people will be living in conditions of water stress.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
Alexander Downer MP (Feb 2006)

Water

AusAID recognises some very interesting points about water and its use and availability:

  • Water was recognised as a fundamental human right in 2002. This recognition entitles everyone to sufficient, affordable, physically accessible, safe and acceptable water for personal and domestic uses.
  • Water is the source of life - vital for health, food and economic development.
  • Indigenous peoples have maintained a spiritual connection with water (and land) and have a deep sense of responsibility towards protecting these.
  • More than one billion people are without safe drinking water and two billion lack adequate sanitation.
  • Usually, about one-half of all people in majority (formally called "developing") countries are suffering from diseases associated with water. Diseases may be caused by drinking water contaminated by human or animal waste, insects which breed in water or parasites.
  • The human body is about 70 per cent water. Water lost through bodily functions needs to be replaced within a couple of days.

In its 2000 Millennium Declaration, the United Nations set eight goals for development, called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals set an ambitious agenda for improving the human condition by 2015.

Father and Child

MDG 7 is a goal to ensure environmental sustainability. It aims to:

  • Halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015.
  • Transform the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
  • Reverse the loss of environmental resources by 2015.

These goals help real people - men, women and children who live in many countries around the world. These people do not have ready access to the most basic human requirements. One such example is thirteen year old Lucia. Lucia and her family are from the village of Kighare in Same, Tanzania which lies on the eastern coast of Africa.

It can be difficult to obtain definite statistics about access to safe water in Tanzania. It is believed between 30-50% of Tanzanian people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. They depend on contaminated water which they collect from dams, water holes and streams. Traditionally the job of collecting water was left to the women and children who would often walk up to nine kilometres each day to collect water. It was exhausting and often dangerous. Through your support of Project Compassion this has now changed. The community worked together with our partners in Tanzania to provide more accessible, safe water which has led to improvements in health, access to education and gender equality. To find out more go to:
www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion/
lentenStories1_secondary.htm

Rice Farming

Melbourne Water states that Australia's rainfall is the lowest of the continents (excluding Antarctica). Despite this, Australia has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world. The facts and figures are alarming. There is a desperate need to intervene and do what we can within our own homes to minimise our waste of water. It is sometimes difficult to think about people who have limited, or no, access to water when we live in a country where clean and filtered water is usually readily available. These days, however, there are many people in Australia who have become only too aware of the scarcity of water, we now live in a country where there is a need in some communities to truck in supplies of water, people are installing bores to enable use of underground water, and washing a car on the grass using a hose is becoming a thing of the past. And as rain becomes scarcer and temperatures hotter, the need for water becomes greater, with increased evaporation levels leaving agricultural land parched and water courses dry.

Sunset

On ABC's Radio National, Peter Mares makes some interesting points:

  • Melbourne is on permanent water restrictions
  • Sydney 's dams are more than half empty
  • Brisbane 's mayor warns that without good rain in the next eight weeks, the city will be in crisis
  • Only about 10% of treated waste-water is re-used
  • South Australia , with its heavy dependence on the Murray, is the only state that's seriously invested in recycling, using treated sewage to irrigate crops on the Adelaide plains.
It is up to each of us to make a conscious decision to reduce the amount of water that we use every day. We should be encouraged to live simply so that others can simply live!		    

Teaching and Learning Activities

Religious Education

  • Fund raising is a great way to raise money for worthwhile causes. Some ideas of how to raise money during Project Compassion can be seen at www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion/
    funFundraising.htm     Consider holding a Caritas Ks event and show your solidarity for people who walk many kilometres each day to access water. Contact Alicia at:aliciag@caritas.org.au
Write an individual prayer which can be decorated and placed around the room. The prayer should focus on this year's theme "Compassion in Action" and may have a specific focus on water - this week's theme. Send your prayers to Caritas and we will try and display some on our website. Send to: education@caritas.org.au

HSIE/SOSE

Geography

  • Go to www.unesco.org/water/wwap/
    wwdr/pdf/chap7.pdf     and read page 4 "The Challenge of Water and Cities". Look at the map of the world and answer the following questions:

    - What has been one of the most significant urban changes in cities?

    - What is a megacity?

    - In terms of "water stress" where do these megacities lie?

    - Obtain a map of the world and locate these areas of "water stress". Make comment about the location of cities with high water stress and link this to their economic situations.

    - Why is there a fast urban growth in majority (referred in the article as "less developed") countries?

  • Go to www.unesco.org/water/wwap/
    wwdr/pdf/chap7.pdf     and look at the table on page 6.

    - On a world map locate the top 30 largest cities in the world.

    - Look at the entire list and see which country has most of the largest cities. Comment on this taking into consideration the population of the country, its economic conditions and standards of living of its residents.

  • Go to AusAID's Society and Environment Learning Quest at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/research/water/ and complete the research based learning module which will see you putting yourself in the shoes of the peace corps as a volunteer to work in Ghana, West Africa to work with the community to develop a plan to ensure a supply of safe drinking water for the local community.

  • Go to a previous issue of OzSpirit about water at: www.ozspirit.info/2002/23bg.html Read the information and complete the activities.

  • Go to a previous issue of OzSpirit about water at: www.ozspirit.info/2004/81.html Seas and Oceans. Read the information and click on the links to see what else is happening around the globe.

History

  • Go to www.unesco.org.uy/phi/libros/
    histwater/frame.html     and read about the history of water.

    - Create a time line listing important people the article speaks about, the year of their contributions and a little bit of information about what they taught, believed or preached.

    - Go to "Water as foe" and read about waterborne diseases. Write a newspaper article set in the time of one of the great floods that are mentioned. Describe the effects of the flood, the loss of lives it caused and the destruction left in the wake of the flood.

Civics

Find out who the Minister for Water Resources is in the Australian Parliament. Consider writing to both this minister, the shadow minister and your local member about your concern for the shortage of water in Australia and around the world. Ask them what steps the Australian Government are taking to ensure MDG 7 (environmental sustainability: including halving the proportion of people without access to water by 2015) is achieved. Also ask what steps are being taken to promote the conservation of water as well as alternate ways of accessing water within Australia. Go to
www.aph.gov.au/house/members/Email.asp or www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/email.htm  for contact details.

English

Prepare a speech on "Why is Water a Development Issue?" Refer to the following web sites to help you:

www.ozspirit.com./archives.html#wat

www.worldwater.org

www.wateraid.org

www.unesco.org

www.cafod.org.uk/resources/
secondary_schools/water

www.cafod.org.uk/about_cafod/what_we_do/
development/water_and_sanitation

Go to AusAID's site at www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/
globaled/go/pid/155 and read Mikiesse's story. Compile a list of pros and cons for the two decisions that he has to make in reference to collection of water for his family.

Go to www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?
idLang=ENG&idUser=0&idChannel=
109&idNews=3116 and read about "The Wait for Water". Compare the day the women in Darfur have with a normal school day of yours. Write a diary entry from the point of view of one of the women living in Darfur.

Science

  • Go to www.gippswater.com.au/education/water.asp

    -     Draw up a pie chart showing the source of water found on the Earth.

    - Construct a table showing the three forms of water with examples of each.

    - It is claimed that we lose three litres of water per day. Brainstorm how we lose this water, where it goes, and how we can replenish water levels in our bodies.

    - Read the information on the water cycle and define the following words: Evaporation
    Transpiration
    Condensation
    Precipitation

    - Draw a basic diagram showing the water cycle and label the four components you defined above.

    - Look at the map of the Latrobe River Basin Rainfall. What is the elevation of the following places?
    Warragul
    Moe
    Morwell
    Sale

    - Read the section on water quality and see if you can conduct some of your own tests on water found near your school. Test for temperature, dissolved oxygen, colour and pH (acidity).
  • Water pollution affects the quality of clean and fresh drinking water. Go to www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/bookstor/
    kits/english/oceans/page1.htm     and read about cleaner oceans. Complete the activities for Unit 15: Cleaner Oceans by scrolling through the pages of activities and graphing exercises.
  • Conduct an experiment in the class. Obtain water from several sources including bottled water, tap water, filtered water, rain water and water from a dam or tank. Label each water source with a number and rank the water in order of preference for colour, appearance, taste. Discuss your results with the class.

Mathematics

  1. Go to Worksheet One at www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion/
    materials/schools/Secondary%20Schools%
    20Materials/CaritasAustralia_
    PC06_Worksheets.pdf     and complete the "Be Water Wise" activity.

  2. Go to www.unesco.org/water/
    wwap/wwdr/pdf/chap7.pdf     and look at the tables on page 5. Table 7.1 shows the "Distribution of urban population in more and less developed regions in 1975, 2000 and 2015". Draw up three column graphs showing information for the world's percentage distribution in 1975, 2000 and 2015. Plot "percentage" up the y-axis and the "area of residence" along the x-axis. Make a comment about the appearance of each of the graphs and then compare the three graphs. Conclude with a class discussion.

  3. Go to www.cafod.org.uk/resources/
    secondary_schools/water/water_
    factsheet_ks3_ks4     and look at the water facts.

    - Find out the world's population and then calculate how many people lack proper sanitation in their lives.
    - How many children die each year from unsafe water and poor sanitation?

CAPA (Creative Arts)

Parish/Community/Social Justice Groups

  1. The Australian Government's AusAID site has an excellent report on "Approaches to managing water resources". Go to www.ausaid.gov.au/
    publications/pdf/ausaid_water.pdf     to read the report.

  2. Go to www.catholicearthcareoz.net/
    pdf/TGOW_Full.pdf     and read through the 'Gift of Water' presentation. It has very interesting information in the presentation and concludes with a lovely prayer taken from Psalm 104: 1 - 5.

  3. Write to your local member about your concern for the shortage of water in Australia and around the world. Ask them what steps the Australian Government are taking to ensure MDG 7 (environmental sustainability: including halving the proportion of people without access to water by 2015) is achieved. Also ask what steps are being taken to promote the conservation of water as well as alternate ways of accessing water within Australia. Go to www.aph.gov.au/house/
    members/Email.asp     or www.aph.gov.au/
    Senate/senators/email.htm      for contact details.

  4. The Global Water Partnership has researched water security in Kenya in relation to the MDGs. www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?idLang=
    ENG&idUser=0&idChannel=109&id
    News=3116     has an excellent review of this report.

  5. Read the article "Glass Half Empty for One Fifth of the World's Children" at: www.unicef.com.au/mediaCentre-
    Detail.asp?ReleaseID=611    . Discuss why water should be considered an inviolable right.

  6. Up coming Event: The Fourth Water Forum March 16 - 22 2006. The forum will be held in Mexico City It aims to raise an awareness of water issues throughout the world. There are web-based workshops which can be attended from your computer, but you have to register. To read more about it go to www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx/
    home/home.asp?lan

  7. Up coming Event: March 22 is World Day for Water. The theme this year is "Water and Culture" which is very apt considering that the water shortage and water crisis is world wide. The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Visit www.unesco.org/water/
    wwd2006/index.shtml     to see how you can get involved by organising activities, completing challenges and reading articles about water usage around the globe.

  8. Up coming Event: International Decade for Action: Water for Life 2005-2015. The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action: "Water for Life". A decade of action! The primary goal of the "Water for Life" Decade is to promote efforts to fulfil international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. Go to www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/ and listen to Kofi Annan's speech.

  9. Up coming Event: International Women's Day 8 March. International Women's Day is a day to recognise and celebrate the achievements of women from around the world. Go to www.internationalwomensday.com/
    events/default.asp?search=1     to view events being held around Australia to celebrate the occasion. A powerpoint and other materials to celebrate this day will be available on Caritas Australia's website at: www.caritas.org.au/education/iwd.htm

  10. Prayer and reflection: For Christian believers, committed to love for God's creation and to respect for the dignity of every person, responding to the issue of climate change will need to be central in the life of faith. Fr Denis Edwards MA is a lecturer in the School of Theology at Flinders University. Read his presentation from the Catholic Earthcare Climate Change Conference November 2005 which is available at www.catholicearthcareoz.net/reflections.html

  11. Take a moment to read the prayer at www.cafod.org.uk/resources/worship/
    prayers/prayers_for_environment/
    toxic_lifestyles_toxic_waste     and reflect alone or in a small group about the thoughts and images it provokes.

  12. Discuss with people in a group the importance of regulating the use of water and the ways that we can help to eliminate wasting water, including:
    - Take short showers (5 to 6 minutes) and install a water efficient showerhead.
    - Install a dual flush toilet and use the half-flush option.
    - Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and rinse using a glass of water instead of running water.
    - Spread mulch around your garden - it will reduce water loss through evaporation by up to 73%.
    - Check and repair any leaks. A leak can waste as much as 200 litres per day.
    - Insulate hot water pipes.
    - Consider air cooled rather than water cooled air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
    - Install water efficient irrigation systems and plant local native species.

  13. Good web sites for additional information on water availability, water usage and waste can be found at:

    - World Bank Water and Sanitation Program: www.wsp.org
    -     Global Water Partnership: www.gwpforum.org
    -     United Nations: www.un.org/english/ - would be better to go to specific part of their website
    - Australian Government's AusAID www.ausaid.gov.au/

  14. Find out more about the Millennium Development Goals at www.un.org/millenniumgoals/index.asp and see what you and your Parish or community can do to try and help achieve them. More information available at:

  15. Go to the Catholic Earthcare Australia website at www.catholicearthcareoz.net/events.html to see about events in your local area.

  16. The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has published the "Seasons of Social Justice 2006 Social Justice Diary". It includes dates of significant events, anniversaries and special days associated with social justice, prayers and action ideas. A very useful resources for schools and parishes.To order a diary, call 02 9956 5811 or email admin@acsjc.org.au

 

  
© 2004 Caritas and Church Resources   Home