In anticipation of National Water Week next week (17-23 March 2019) and World Water Day (22 March), the theme of our Book Club Hour at Thorntree Preparatory School today was Water, and the problem of water scarcity in North Africa and other parts of the world.
An interesting discussion about where the water in our houses come from, was followed by a brief overview of the way many people in North African countries collect water for washing and drinking. While it is easy for us in developed areas to open a tap and expect running water, over 1 billion people (about 1 in every 8) in the world don’t have access to clean, safe water. Water scarcity poses many a problem, including lack of education for the children (because they have to go collect water instead of attending school), sanitation problems, famine and poverty.
The children were introduced to Salva Dut and Georgie Badiel who established organizations to drill and install mechanical water pumps closer to the villages of Sudan and Burkina Faso respectively. The kids also learned about water pollution and the dangers of untreated water (one of which is described in the book A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park – Guinea worms!), and discussed how water can be cleaned and made safe through filtering, boiling, and distilling, and also how government treatment plants purify water.
The children were quite interested in the makeshift filters that were on display, and how to ensure the water becomes safe to drink.
The final food for thought was about how Salva Dut and Georgie Badiel used Questioning and Problem Posing (HOM #7) to find a solution and establish those water-relief organizations to provide water for Sudan, Burkina Faso and other African countries. They also learned how to apply a Questioning and Problem Posing mindset to their own personal challenges, and that asking questions is actually cool.
The books introduced to discuss these topics and issues were A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park (ISBN: 9781786074621), and The Water Princess by Susan Verde (ISBN: 9780399172588).
