● ● ● ● ● ● ● Materials Needed Day (March22)andWorld Toilet Day (November 19). during World Water Month(March),oronWorld Water throughout theyear, butcanconsiderhostingone Volunteers canhostaWater Walk atanypoint day inwalking milestogatherwater fortheirfamilies. experience whatmillionsofmothersandchildrendoeach their communitytowalk withheavy buckets ofwater to To planaWater Walk, volunteers pickavisiblespotin andhygiene(WASH). issues, andwhatUNICEFisdoingintheareaofwater, environment oflearningaroundglobalwater-related Walk isagreatactivityforallagesthatcreatesan global water crisis,specificallyonchildren.A Water community toraiseawareness abouttheimpactof UNICEF USAsupporterscanhostaWater Walk intheir What isaWater Walk? Organize aUNICEFUSAWater Walk Support UNICEFUSA      Name tagsstating girlorboy Hula hoopsorconesforobstacles Megaphone (optional) Examples includeweights, rocksorsand. Some typeofweight toreflect weight of water. Buckets orjugs(1perparticipant,group) Clear plasticbottlefilledwithdirty-looking water Water walk story script 10 minutesprep, 45minutesactivity Estimated Time Elementary schooltoadult Age Requirement 10–20 peopletomove aboutcomfortably. An openspace(grassand/or ahardsurface)forabout Environment Needed ●

UNICEF WASH handout(optional) your conversations. our website tohelpfurtherguide Use theVolunteer Resources on Keep inMind

© UNICEF/UN061857/BROWN Before You Walk

Before starting the Water Walk, separate participants into groups of 5–6 people. You may have fewer people in each group if you would like; or you can do it all together. Distribute the girl and boy name tags randomly to all participants.

There will be four stops throughout the Water Walk. Either station someone at each stop, or pick a leader in each group to be the narrator of the Water Walk story. © UNICEF/UN065366/SOULEIMAN To make sure that everyone has enough space and time to complete When planning your Water Walk, be conscious of each stop, consider staggering the groups. Let the first participants with disabilities. Be prepared to state group complete two stations, before letting the next additional ways to take action if the ones described group begin. below are not inclusive to all participants.

Water Walk Map

Start Stop 2 Stop 3 Water Top of the Lake by pump mountain the village

Stop 1 One mile End End away Take an extra-long School Home way

UNICEF USA unicefusa.org page 2 Water Walk Story Stop 3 Good teamwork — it looks like you all have your water Beginning still in your buckets, and you are so close to home. This Starting near a water source, have everyone fill stop is at the lake that is right by your village. It would their jug of water. Congratulations! You have just have been a lot easier to just get water from this lake made it to the nearest water pump and filtration system instead of walking all the way to the water pump. to your village. You are all children who live in a small village in Nicaragua, where almost one-third of the But why do you think it’s not safe to drink from this population in remote areas does not have access to lake? (Hold up a water bottle full of dirty-looking clean water. About 3–4 times a week, you wake up super water) early in the morning (before the sun comes up!) and walk two and a half miles to this location. You’re right — it’s dirty! And what might happen if you drink dirty water? You are already tired and you can feel the sun growing hotter, but you’ve got to carry the water back to your Yes, you would get sick! And without clean water, it’s home in time to make it to school! You’ve got a long very hard to get healthy again. journey ahead of you with lots of obstacles, so you better get going – but be careful! Try not to spill any of Unfortunately, the school bell rings again indicating it’s the water you collected as you and your family need starting. Because it is seen as more important that boys all of it. go to school, all of the boys must now leave their buckets of water for the girls to take back so that they Stop 1 can hurry to class. Good job! You’ve made it a whole mile carrying the water you collected. But the hardest part is ahead of (Boys continue to walk alongside while girls carry the you! You have reached the mountain that separates your water the rest of the way) village from the water source. You still have half a mile to go until you get home. Keep Set your water down and do 20 mountain climbers. going, though; you’re almost there!

You and your friends are going to have to work together End to make it over and back down the other side. Be careful Welcome home! You made the long journey back with not to step on any sharp rocks, and be sure to take a rest your clean water. Now look at how much water you when you get to the top! To make sure you don’t scrape were able to bring back. your feet, you will need to run with high knees all the way to the next stop! This water is going to have to last you and your family until your next trip to the water pump: what all do you (Set up obstacles along the way so that students cannot use water for? take a straight path) Drinking, cleaning, cooking, washing hands, etc. This is Stop 2 all the water you have ­— use it wisely and don’t waste Welcome to the top of the mountain. Are you any of it! getting tired yet? Unfortunately, you and your friends are running behind. The school warning bells are ringing, Sadly, the girls did not make it back in time to go to which means you have 15 minutes until school starts, school — maybe tomorrow. But you and your family will but you still have a mile left to go! You want to hurry be able to eat a hot meal of healthy oatmeal tonight with home so that you don’t miss any school, but before you the water you collected. Good job! Now go get some start heading down the mountain, you notice the path rest! you typically take is flooded. Because you want to be extra careful, you and your friends take the long way down to avoid any dangers. Make sure that you don’t leave anyone behind! 800 children will die today

(Make the group take an extra-long, out-of-the-way path from water- and sanitation-related to their next stop) diseases.

UNICEF USA unicefusa.org page 3 What is UNICEF doing?

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.

© UNICEF/UN057876/CHUDEAU Globally, 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation facilities, and 663 million people use unsafe Water Walk Debrief sources. Ensuring access to water and sanitation in schools can ● Look at how much water you have now, would that be also help reduce the number of children who miss out enough for everything you need? on their education – especially girls. Scaling up access to WASH also supports efforts to protect vulnerable ● How heavy is the bucket or jug? children from violence, exploitation and abuse, since women and girls bear the heaviest burden in water ● How can we help people who need water? collection, often undertaking long, unsafe journeys to collect water. ● What if you collected the water from the dirty lake; would that be safe to use? Why? Today, UNICEF has WASH programs in 107 countries to promote the survival, protection and development of ● What about the boys? Why did they get to go back to children, and support behavior change around WASH. school? Was that fair? For more information, see our Water, Sanitation and ● What are some ways that UNICEF is helping children Hygiene information sheet on the following page, which in the area of water? can be printed out and distributed (optional). ● © UNICEF/UN011585/AYENE

UNICEF USA unicefusa.org page 4 July 2017

About Water, Sanitation and UNICEF The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Hygiene (WASH) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF WASH and Children has helped save more Globally, 4.5 billion people lack access to children’s lives than any safely managed sanitation and 2.1 billion other humanitarian organi­ zation by providing health people lack safe drinking water at home. care and immunizations, The lack of these basic necessities isn’t just clean water and sanitation, inconvenient — it’s lethal. nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. Over 800 children die every day — about 1 UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s work through every 2 minutes — from due to unsafe fundraising, advocacy and drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor education in the United hygiene. Suffering and death from diseases States. Together, we are like pneumonia, trachoma, scabies, skin working toward the day and eye infections, cholera and dysentery when no children die from preventable causes and could be prevented by scaling up access every child has a safe and to adequate water supply and sanitation healthy childhood. facilities and eliminating . For more information, visit unicefusa.org. Ensuring access to water and sanitation UNICEF has helped in schools can also help reduce the number increase school of children who miss out on their education enrollment in Malawi through the provision — especially girls. Scaling up access to of safe drinking water.

WASH also supports efforts to protect © UNICEF/UN040976/RICH vulnerable children from violence, exploitation and abuse, since women and girls bear Today, UNICEF has WASH programs in 109 the heaviest burden in water collection, countries to promote the survival, protection often undertaking long, unsafe journeys and development of children and support to collect water. behavior change around WASH. UNICEF works directly with governments, community based UNICEF and WASH organizations and families to ensure access to Since 1990, UNICEF and partners have played clean and secure supplies of water and a key role as 2.6 billion people gained access convenient sanitary facilities. Improving to safe drinking water. UNICEF programs sanitation and hygiene in schools is a core pillar that started with an emphasis on water of programs to increase school attendance, and supply hardware, such as drilling rigs and empower children as agents of change in their hand pumps, have evolved toward a focus homes and communities. As the lead on sanitation and the “software” of supporting emergency agency in the WASH sector, policy development, building the capacity UNICEF offers a core package of water, of institutions and raising awareness about sanitation and hygiene interventions in times of hygiene. humanitarian emergency. 2016 UNICEF WASH Snapshot ● Helped over 17 million people gain access to In 2016, UNICEF: improved sanitation. Over 800 children ● Invested $949 million to reach the most ● Provided water, sanitation, and hygiene vulnerable children and families around the facilities in 7,100 schools in 71 countries. die every world access WASH. day — about ● Supported the construction of over 1,600 ● Had 660 experts carrying out water, WASH facilities in health clinics and 1 every 2 sanitation, and hygiene programs in 109 hospitals. minutes — countries. ● Assisted over 14 million people in over from diarrhea ● Helped 39 million people gain access to safe 33,000 communities to become certified as drinking water around the world, including open defecation-free. ● due to unsafe nearly 29 million people in emergencies. drinking water, poor Community health workers have taught sanitation, or Amnata child health-related interventions, including poor hygiene. and other good hygiene practices. © UNICEF/UN065186/PHELPS