Back To School? Not Without Clean Water

‘Back-to-school’ means something different in parts of the Pacific

Children in remote areas of the Pacific, like the outer islands of Solomon Islands or Kiribati struggle to go back to school if they don’t have access to clean water, let alone access to pens, school books and a new school bag.

"The Pacific is our home too. It’s unacceptable that even one child in our region does not have easy access to the most important life-saving resource of all - water," says CEO of ChildFund Josie Pagani

Some schools lack running clean water, and parents either cannot access or cannot afford bottled water. Children miss school to spend the day collecting clean water from sources many miles away.

"Lack of clean water has a domino effect. Dirty water impacts a child’s education, which then impacts their ability to work and earn an income, and even their lifelong health," says Sharon Inone, CEO of Greenergy.

Sharon has recently returned from working with the United Nations, to her home province of Temotu in Solomon Islands, where Greenergy is working with ChildFund New Zealand to bring clean water to her community.

"I made a promise to my mother that I would do something about the lack of clean water in our home, and that’s what I’m doing," says Sharon Inone.

The lack of clean water in parts of Solomon Islands, Kiribati and other remote parts of the Pacific leads to dysentery, severe diarrhoea, hospitalisation and even death in children with their whole lives ahead of them.

ChildFund New Zealand is working with local communities across the Pacific to fix or build water infrastructure.

Without this work, too many children will miss out on an education, a career and even a full healthy life.

1 in 10 deaths for children under 5 years in parts of the Pacific is linked to diarrhoea, vomiting and dirty water. The Pacific has some of the highest rates of stunting in the world, with 33 per cent of children under the age of five in Solomon Islands suffering from stunting, and 15 per cent of children affected in Kiribati.

"Stunting doesn’t just affect physical growth. It affects a child’s brain development which makes it hard for them to learn. Preventing the illnesses that come from dirty water will help to reduce these rates. This is a fixable problem. So let’s fix it," says Josie Pagani.

"I want our kids to grow up like normal kids, with access to the basics like clean water. Not to be born into the culture of looking for water every day. If they have clean water, kids will get the education they deserve. We are adding four to five more hours every day to their lives if they don’t have to search for clean water. These are hours that their parents can use earning an income instead of looking for water. It is adding more time to do more productive things," says Sharon Inone.

"This is not just about water. It’s about people getting their lives back. It’s about stopping kids die. It’s about allowing parents time to make money, and the kids the time to learn. It's about improving the standard of living and the health of children no matter where they live," says Sharon Inone.

"Clean water changes everything."

Give the back-to-school gift of an education to a child in the Pacific.

Donate to ChildFund, to help us buy water tanks, rebuild broken water pumps or provide safe sanitation kits to schools and homes.

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