Thirsty Planet in Trafalgar Square
Thirsty Planet are an ethical water brand who donate a share of proceeds from every bottle they sell to fresh water projects in Africa. They’re taking part in a great event this weekend in Trafalgar Square to tie in with World Water Day – a perfect way to escape the Easter madness! Here are the details…
Africa comes to Trafalgar Square to mark World Water Day
Trafalgar Square will be alive to the sound of Africa on Easter Saturday (22 March) as the London-based charity Pump Aid and ethical water brand, Thirsty Planet, exhibit the work they do with rural communities in Zimbabwe and Malawi, two of the poorest countries in Africa, as part of World Water Day.
A United Nations initiative, World Water Day aims to increase awareness of the one billion plus people in the world who still do not have access to clean water.
A Pump Aid team from Zimbabwe will be demonstrating how it can build one of its Elephant pumps in just four hours. Based on a 2,000-year-old Chinese design, the pumps cost just £250 each to build and can serve a community of up to 500 people. That’s 50p to give someone clean water for life. Villagers are trained in how to operate and how to mend the pump should it go wrong, using materials they can pick up in their community such as plant fibres and bits of plastic.
Supporters of Pump Aid will be lending a hand with the construction, while passers-by will be challenged to see how far they can carry a 20 litre bucket of water. Millions of women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa have to do this over many miles, several times a day. And the water they collect for their families, for drinking, cooking and washing, is more often than not polluted, causing sickness or even death, particularly among the under-5s.
“It’s a a fantastic opportunity for us to make people stop and think about what life must be like without clean water, something we take for granted in the west,â€? said Ian Thorpe, international director for Pump Aid.
“Having a clean, reliable source of water gets people on the first step out of poverty. In addition to improving health it gives women more time to carry out tasks that can bring in an income for the family, girls who are often taken out of school to help fetch the water, can get a full time education, and nutrition is improved as there is enough water to irrigate vegetable gardens.â€?
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