Jars of Change Appeal 2019 Jars of Change Lent Appeal 2019 © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga

The lack of clean water near home has a ripple effect on children’s lives © WaterAid/ Sibtain Haider © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga Explain that this Lent, your class/school is supporting WaterAid, to help transform the lives of children around the world who are missing out on school and play, because there’s no clean water close to their homes. The days of these children are dominated by fetching water that takes them away from studying or being with their friends and family. They are forced to travel long distances to the nearest water source through dangerous routes and the water they have access to is often dirty and contaminated. By supporting the Jars of Change appeal this Lent, you can help communities get clean water for the very first time, transforming their health, education and livelihoods. 

The water is dirty and can make them ill. Maliya, 11, has to collect water for her family. She needs to walk to the river every morning. The journey is long and dangerous, it makes her miss out on school, study and play. The water is dirty and can make them ill. © WaterAid/ Sibtain Haider © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga Maliya lives in Chiswe, a small village in Malawi without access to clean water. She spends hours each day walking to collect water, starting early in the morning and travelling through dangerous routes. The long journey to water often makes her so late from school that when she arrives, she finds the school gate locked and is forced to return home. As a result she misses out on whole days of education and falls behind with her studies - she tries hard to catch up on the work she misses by copying notes from her friends but often struggles to understand without actually attending the class.  Her afternoons are equally dominated by fetching water, instead of studying or playing with her friends. Her whole life would change if she had access to clean water and could attend school every day.

Malita, 10, has a water kiosk in her village where they can all get clean water. She now doesn’t have to spend hours a day fetching water. She attends school every day and is doing really well; and has time for her friends and family. © WaterAid/ Sibtain Haider © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga Malita lives in Bwemba, Malawi, and her village recently had a water kiosk installed where they can all collect clean water. Before that, Malita used to have the same problems as Maliya - she struggled to keep up at school and used to be late for classes. Now she only has to walk five minutes to reach clean water, and she’s thriving! She’s proud to have gone from being 25th to first in class since clean water was brought to her village. She now has time to enjoy her childhood, play with her friends and spend more time with her family.

WaterAid is working in Malawi to bring clean water to communities like Maliya’s for the very first time. © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga Maliya and Malita live in Malawi, where 1 in 3 people don’t have clean water and more than half the population is still living without a toilet. Maliya’s village is haunted by the lack of clean water. Shallow wells dry up quickly, and the only remaining water source is the river, where the water is dirty and unprotected. Having to use dirty water is hitting children in Malawi the hardest – more than 3,100 children under five die every year from diarrhoea. WaterAid is working to help reach every community with water, toilets and hygiene.

How you can help © WaterAid/ Sibtain Haider © WaterAid/ Mia Shah By giving up something and donating the money you save, you can help to bring clean water to communities like Maliya’s. By filling jars of change, you will help ensure that children have the opportunity to learn and reach their potential. Why not give a twist to your Jars of Change fundraising? - Instead of giving something up, find a new habit you start sticking to. You can commit to having showers instead of baths to save water, to having healthy meals, or to surprising a friend or loved one for no reason. Pop some small change in your jar every time you do it. - Together with your family, write down something each day that you are grateful for and put the notes in your jar along with some spare change. At the end of Lent, reflect on all the things you and your family can be grateful for.   You’ll find more fundraising ideas on our website: https://www.wateraid.org/uk/get-involved/fundraising/fundraising-ideas-for-schools

Thank you for joining Jars of Change The support of your school means that more girls like Maliya will have the opportunity of a healthier, happier future. © WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga