Jack and Jill
A STORY
ABOUT WATER
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water...
Actually they didn’t. At least, not in this story.
In this story, Jack lives in a house near Hamilton. They used to have a well, but no-one uses it anymore. Now the water comes to him. All he has to do is turn on a tap.
In this story, Jill lives in a community in Cambodia. They used to have a well, but it dried up. Now she has to go to a pond to fetch water. There is dirty water everywhere.
Every morning Jack wakes up late! He quickly washes and cleans his teeth.
He grabs his swimmers from the clothes line. Then he runs to school!
Every morning Jill wakes up very early. She quickly gets dressed.
She puts her buckets on a yoke across her back. Then she walks through the village and rice paddies to fetch water.
At school, Jack paints with watercolours.
Then he goes swimming after lunch. It’s raining and he splashes in the puddles. And then it’s time to go home.
Jill doesn’t go to school. She is sick from drinking dirty water. Her family cannot afford medicine.
She draws water from the same pond where the farmers wash their animals and women wash clothes. The dirty water needs to be boiled, but this week they could not afford firewood.
At home, Jack helps his Dad wash the car with water from their rainwater tank.
Then they go inside for dinner.
At home, Jill waters the vegetables in the garden. For dinner she has rice and vegetables.
Jack has a bath.
He has a glass of water before bedtime. It keeps him healthy. He goes to bed, and dreams of friends and school tomorrow...
Jill goes back to the pond for a bath. She has a drink of water before bedtime. The water quenches her thirst but does not make her any healthier. Her skin is itchy from the dirty water.
She goes to bed, and dreams of clean water.
Some things to think about... The average person in Australia uses about 280 litres of water every day. That’s about 28 buckets of water. In New Zealand the average person uses 16 buckets per day (160 litres). What ways do you use water in your house? The average person in the developing world uses about 10 litres of water every day. That’s 1 bucket of water. Who has the easier life, Jack or Jill?
What can Jack learn from Jill? Many children in the world live just like Jill. They don’t have a safe water supply; they have to travel a long way to get water. And the water they have is dirty which can lead to illness and even death. How do you think this affects them? Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian organisation that helps people like Jill in our story. They help dig wells and drill boreholes to provide safe water. And in areas where there is only dirty water, they provide amazing filters that make the water safe to drink. What could Jack do to help Jill?
You can supply safe water to children like Jill by filling an empty drink bottle with coins.* It is like a miracle in a bottle. Involve your friends and see how quickly you can fill your bottles... Here is how you can help TURN ON THE TAP: $100 could provide a family with a water filter that would provide safe drinking water. $250 could provide a small community with a hand dug well and fit it with a hand pump. $2,260 could provide a school with a rainwater harvesting solution that would provide safe water FOR SAFE ACCESSIBLE WATER for up to 500 children. IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD When you have filled your bottle, please send us a cheque (made out to Samaritan’s Purse) or make your donation online at www.turnonthetap.org.au. * If you fill a 600ml bottle with $2 coins this will add up to as much as $600. Get your TURN ON THE TAP bottle label at www.turnonthetap.org.au or call 1300 884 468 (Australia) / 0800 726 274 (New Zealand).
TM
Samaritan’s Purse is meeting the physical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease and natural disaster with the aim of demonstrating God’s love and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
© Copyright 2008, Samaritan’s Purse Australia, 3rd edition January 2009 Australia: www.samaritanspurse.org.au PO Box 6544, Blacktown, NSW 2148 PH: 1300 884 468 ABN: 84 070 722 404 New Zealand: www.samaritanspurse.org.nz PO Box 870, Auckland 1140 PH: 0800 726 274 Companies Office Reg No: 180 9554 Design and production: Red & Green Marketing Ltd. Illustrations: © 2008 Red & Green Marketing Ltd. PH: +44 (0)1892 750900