Discussion Guide for
Water for All After viewing “Water for All,” use this guide to research the importance of clean water to people and the environment, reflect on how the video impacted you, recall what you learned, respond in tangible ways, reach out with life-changing help, resolve to follow God’s Word, and rely on His goodness and power.
Research »
8 8 4 M IL L ION PEO PLE WO R LDWIDE lack access to safe water. More than 2.5
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billion people worldwide lack basic sanitation facilities. Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day, and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
O NE C H IL D DIES EV ERY 7 B EC A USE O F WAT ER or weaning food
contaminated by lethal doses of viruses, parasites, and bacteria. More than half of these deaths could be prevented with access to clean water for drinking and soap for hand washing. What’s more, nearly 90 percent of these deaths could be prevented with a fully integrated health, hygiene, and nutrition strategy. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
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O NE O F T H E EIGHT UNIT ED NAT IO NS Millennium Development Goals is to
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L A C K O F C LEA N WAT ER C A USES MILLIO NS of people in developing countries
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ensure environmental sustainability, and specifically to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. The World Health Organization (WHO) outlines that its work on water and sanitation contributes to the Millennium Development Goals in the following ways: health through safe drinking water and basic sanitation, health through integrated water resources management, and health through improved water in healthcare settings. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
to suffer needlessly and constantly from diseases such as diarrhea and parasitic infections. This compromises the immune systems of entire communities, but has the most impact on children younger than 5. Waterborne and water-related diseases worsen the already debilitating effects of malnutrition, and seriously impede the physical and mental development of these young children—sometimes permanently. When opportunistic infections coincide with malnutrition and weakened immune systems, the result is all too often tragic and needless death. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) T H E S E P R E VENTA B LE DISEA SES A LSO C O ST C HILDR EN an estimated
443 million school days a year. And because children (particularly girls) must spend hours every day fetching water from a distant source, they are often unable to attend school—even when they are healthy. Also, where a clean water source is unavailable to a community, it is less likely that schools will be built there, or that properly trained teachers will move to the community, even if a school and teacher’s quarters have been provided to attract them. A lack of separate and locking sanitation facilities at schools has a profound effect on the attendance of pubescent girls in particular, forcing them to drop out due to shame or fear for their safety. Without the opportunity to pursue higher education, these girls are frequently consigned to a life of poverty, and give birth to children themselves doomed to be trapped in the cycle of poverty. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) GIR L S A N D WO MEN A R E T HE “WAT ER HA ULER S” of the developing world.
On average, women and girls in developing countries walk nearly four miles a day, carrying five gallons of water, to supply the family needs for water for drinking, cooking, washing, irrigating crops, and watering livestock. This enormous task greatly reduces the time available for other productive work such as household tasks, gardening, or engaging in income-generating activities. The time taken to collect water has a significant negative impact on girls’ education—girls may miss classes or arrive at school exhausted because they have already spent hours walking to collect water for their family’s daily needs. (Source: UNICEF: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
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Reflect I NC L UDE D IN T HIS DISC USSIO N guide is a Personal Water Use chart detailing the
number of gallons of water used for typical daily activities, such as taking a shower or washing dishes. Have each person fill out the chart based on their individual water use. As a group, how much water are you using every day? How much of that amount do you think is wasteful?
A L S O INC L UDE D I S A C HA RT detailing domestic water use by country. Compare daily
domestic water use around the world. How would you explain the differences?
HO W H AV E Y O UR T HO UGHT S A B O UT WAT ER and water use changed after watching
the film and completing the water chart activity?
Recall Z A L IFA’S V IL L A GE HA S NO A C C ESS T O SA FE WAT ER . Three times a day she and her
brothers and sisters go to a well for water that is not even safe to drink. This responsibility can take hours every day. Recall from the video the impact that this lack of safe water has on children specifically.
W IT HIN T H E FA M I LY, the responsibility of gathering water usually falls on women.
How does this responsibility impact their daily lives and their ability to contribute to the community? How does access to clean water through a new well empower women to be agents of change in their community?
A H A ND-DUG, O P EN WELL is not a safe option because contaminants can fall in and
make the water unsafe to drink. With the help of World Vision, Abida’s community was eventually able to build a deep well that provided safe, clean water. Who funded this project, who provided the expertise, and who provided the labor? How is the well managed and maintained?
W IT H T H E H E L P OF WO R LD V ISIO N, what agricultural, health, and educational
improvements have been made possible in Abida’s community since the newest well was built? What plans does the community have for future development?
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Respond HO W C A N Y O U A S A N INDIV IDUA L and as a group decrease the amount of water you use
on a daily basis? How might your decision to consume less help others and the environment?
GA IN IN G K NO W L EDGE A B O UT GLO B A L C IT IZ ENSHIP and good stewardship of our
resources is a powerful means to effect change. What could you do to increase and share your knowledge about issues that impact people around the world?
Y O U S AW IN T HE V IDEO HO W A WELL not only brings clean water to a community but
also starts a chain reaction of improvements in all areas of life. What first step could you take in your community or another community to bring about positive change and meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged?
Reach Out Consider making a difference in the following ways:
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P R AY F O R C HILDR EN A ND FA MILIES living in regions without access to clean
water, specifically remembering those who are suffering from diseases related to unsafe water. S P O N S O R A C HILD T HR O UGH WO R LD V ISIO N. For just about a dollar a
day, you’ll provide your sponsored child with access to critical basics such as clean water, improved nutrition, healthcare, and education. Your gifts will help make a world of difference for one child and his or her community as they continue development efforts. For sponsorship information, visit www.worldvisionresources.com and click on the “sponsor a child” icon. B E C O M E A N A DV O C AT E. Sign petitions and participate in events to encourage
your legislators and communities to prioritize the provision of access to clean water for children. For more information, go to www.worldvisionresources.com and click on the “programs and events” icon. B E C O M E E D UC AT ED A B O UT C LEA N WAT ER issues and the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals by visiting www.unicef.org and www.who.int/en. DO NAT E IT EMS FR O M T HE WO R LD V ISIO N GIFT C ATA LO G to help
communities with development projects that will benefit their children for generations to come. Gifts include items such as wells, contributions to water and sanitation funds, trees, goats, mother and child health care, small business loans, school fees, even bicycles to help children get to school. For more information, go to www.worldvisionresources.com and click on “programs and events” icon. PA G E 4 O F 8
Resolve »
J E S US A N S WER ED, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but
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whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” —John 4:13-14
“ I HAV E C OME T HAT T HEY MAY HAV E LIFE, and have it to the full.”
—John 10:10 T H IS IS T HE C O NFIDENC E we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. —1 John 5:14-15
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O UR DE S IR E IS NO T T HAT O T HER S might be relieved while you are hard
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E A C H O F Y O U MUST B R ING A GIFT in proportion to the way the Lord your
pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality… —2 Corinthians 8:13-14
God has blessed you. —Deuteronomy 16:17
Rely PRAY THAT:
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F UNDING A ND O T HER R ESO UR C ES necessary to complete clean water projects
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GO D W IL L CO NT INUE USING C O MMUNIT Y leaders to educate people about
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will be readily available. Pray also that communities will find ways to ensure their water supply is well maintained and managed.
safe water, health, hygiene, and sanitation in order to minimize disease caused by unsafe water. GO V E R NM ENT LEA DER S, humanitarian organizations, and policymakers will be
strengthened in their efforts to improve access to clean water around the globe. W E W IL L B E C O NSC IO US O F HO W we use natural resources (including water)
as well as our material resources so that our actions benefit each other and the environment.
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Personal Water Use Chart Activity
A. Average Number of Times Activity is Done Per Day
B. Given Estimates of Water Use
Taking a shower (10 minutes) (standard shower head)
50 gallons (19 / minute)
Taking a shower (10 minutes) (low-flow shower head)
23 gallons (9 / minute)
Taking a bath
39 gallons
Brushing teeth (water running)
2 gallons
Flushing the toilet (standard-flow toilet)
3 gallons
Flushing the toilet (low-flow toilet)
1.9 gallons
Washing dishes by hand
10 gallons
Running a dishwasher
12 gallons
Doing a load of laundry
31 gallons
Watering the lawn
300 gallons
Washing a car
50 gallons
TOTAL Daily Water Use by Household Member
C. Total Daily Water Use
D. Class Estimates of Daily Water Use
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E. Ranking of Water Use Activities (from Column C)
Permission to reproduce is granted. Š 2011 by World Vision Resources.
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Domestic Water Use Chart C O N T INE NT Country
DO MEST IC WAT ER USE*
A F R IC A
17 53 3 2 44
Egypt Ethiopia Mozambique South Africa E UR O P E
Albania United Kingdom NO RT H A MER IC A
Canada United States C E N T R A L A MER IC A
Costa Rica Honduras S O UT H A MER IC A
Peru Venezuela A S IA
Azerbaijan Bangladesh China
(gallons per day per person)
71 91 30 137 208 173 87 145 7 75 43 101 31 77 11 16
Permission to reproduce is granted. Š 2011 by World Vision Resources.
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About World Vision W O R L D V IS IO N is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated
to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. We envision a world where each child experiences “fullness of life” as described in John 10:10. We know this can be achieved only by addressing the problems of poverty and injustice in a holistic way. World Vision is unique in bringing 60 years of experience in three key areas to help children and families thrive: emergency relief, long-term development, and advocacy. We bring our skills across many areas of expertise to each community where we work, enabling us to support children’s physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
About World Vision Resources E NDING GL O B A L PO V ERT Y and injustice begins with education:
understanding the magnitude and causes of poverty, its impact on human dignity, and our connection to those in need around the world. World Vision Resources is the publishing ministry of World Vision. World Vision Resources educates Christians about global poverty, inspires them to respond, and equips them with innovative resources to make a difference in the world.
For more information about our resources, contact: World Vision Resources Mail Stop 321 P.O. Box 9716 Federal Way, WA 98063-9716 Fax: 253-815-3340 wvresources@worldvision.org
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