Did you now that the average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water a day?
But most of us in the UK use water without thinking. We brush our teeth and let the water run in the sink. We boil a full kettle to make one hot drink. We wash clothes on a daily basis, water plants and take long showers and indulge in even longer baths.
According to a joint report in 2019 by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, 1 in 3 people don’t have access to safe drinking water. And millions have limited or poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, particularly in rural areas.
Let me tell you about the work that ADRA-UK is doing to support clean water and sanitation and hygiene in Sri Lanka
Nirved and Aarav live on a tea plantation in the central province of Sri Lanka. They attend the same school and live in the same line village. So called, because the houses are built along a single line or path. The boys do like where they live because they can play together all the time. There is a well with a pump close to the line houses, but they are no longer using it for pumping water. Instead, there is now a tap point with running water provided by ADRA.
After growing tea on the planation for close to 150 years using fertiliser, the ground water has become chemically poisoned. Drinking the ground water was putting the health of Nirved and Aarav and the villagers at risk.
ADRA installed a gravity fed water system which collects water from clean sources high up in the hills. ADRA is also filtering the water to it is very clean and healthy to drink.
With funding provided by the European Commission, ADRA is helping 300,000 people to have access to clean water and sanitation in Sri Lanka.
The 22 March is World Water Day and this year’s theme is Valuing Water. As part of its ongoing commitment to Justice, Love and Compassion, ADRA-UK would invite you to take the following actions:
- Consider your water usage and reduce it where you can. Here are a few suggestions:
- Spend less time in the shower
- Set your washing machine on eco-mode.
- Boil only the water that you need for your hot drink.
- Read more about the work that ADRA-UK is doing around water, sanitation and hygiene. For more information follow this link!
- Donate to ADRA-UK to help them to support children like Nirved and Aarav by visiting our website, www.adra.org.uk/donate
