Leonardo da Vinci, the artist, inventor and engineer, described water as “the driving force of nature”, believing water to be to the world what blood is to our bodies. Water is not only used for cooking, cleaning, drinking and washing, but also for farming and agriculture.
Did you know?
- Only 1% of the world’s water is drinkable and 90% of the world’s fresh water is in Antarctica
- In Zimbawe, 2.5 million people suffer from daily water shortages and 21% say they often go without ‘clean’ water at home
- Women and children in Zimbabwe spend 3-4 hours each day collecting water, walking an average of 3.7 miles (6km) every day to find water
- Collecting water is time spent not working, caring for family members or attending school and can cause injury from constantly having to lift and carry heavy loads of water
- More people in the world have a mobile phone than have access to a toilet
- Women and girls living without a toilet can put themselves in a vulnerable situation, sometimes waiting until dark, when finding somewhere to go to the toilet
- Lack of privacy, in not having access to toilets at school, causes many teenage girls to drop out of education
Improving access to clean water and sanitation
We work closely with local schools and communities to improve access to clean water and sanitation, through projects to drill boreholes with water pumps and building toilet facilities at schools. We have partnered with Rotary International, with funds being provided by Rotary Clubs in the Thames Valley, and the projects overseen by the Rotary Club of Harare.
Providing access to clean water costs from £3,500
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Drilling a bore hole and installing a water pump provides clean and reliable drinking water for school and local community. Pumps are operated manually so fewer parts can go wrong and local people are taught how to fix the pump to ensure a constant supply of water. This results in improved health and increased school attendance.
CBF has worked with Rotary to drill a borehole at Mutake School and work is underway to install the water pump. This means children will have access to clean water to keep them healthy and in education. Even physicians often find it difficult to differentiate between asthma children and prescribe antibiotics accordingly: is the spontaneous deterioration of respiratory function due to asthma or is it due to pneumonia? Many doctors prescribe antibiotics for safety reasons. But this decision is often wrong. Compared to children with healthy lung.
Building a toilet block costs from £2,500
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There were separate boys and girls pit toilets at Cheza Primary School, but as one pit became full, it was sealed over. Children had to share the remaining pit or use the bush. Poor hygiene led to sickness and diarrhoea.
CBF worked with Rotary to build a new Blair toilet block (the design with a vent that prevents flies accessing or leaving the pit). The new toilet block has separate cubicles providing privacy, dignity and safety which the older girls appreciate. Improved hygiene has increased school attendance.
Find out more about our water projects in Zimbabwe,
To help us raise funds for, or donate to, water pumps and toilet facilities at Zimbabwe school, please visit JustGiving.
Facts have been lifted from brainyquote, factslides and water websites.
If you’d like to make a difference to children we support, you can;
- Volunteer in the UK and Zimbabwe
- Help with admin, digital marketing and fundraising in our Reading office
- Look at Indeed jobsearch for our current volunteering roles
- Help teach children, construct boreholes, classrooms and toilets in Zimbabwe
- Help us support the education of children in Africa
- Promote us at your church, club, school and work
- Dorothy Dix shares her experience of growing up in Zimbabwe by talking to groups and school assemblies
- Organise activities and events using our fundraising ideas
- Fundraise for us, donate at JustGiving or text CBFZ10 £10 to 70070
- Ask people who support your fundraising event to sign a Gift Aid form
- If people sign your Gift Aid form, the government gives 25p extra for every £1 you raise so we get £1.25
- Sponsor a child for £15 a month to give them skills, vision and motivation
- Have fun choosing items to fill a shoebox and the joy of opening one lasts forever
- Purchase from retailers at easyfundraising; we get a percentage of what you spend
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