Take the plunge with WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. There is no debate on this - clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life. And Rotary has been making a difference in this critical area of focus for a long time.When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
Clubs across this district have participated in projects that have resulted in wells, irrigation, education programs, hygiene initiatives and so much more. What will you do this month to extend your involvement and learn more about WASH?
Here are some ideas!
- Invite a speaker to your club to talk about water, sanitation or hygiene related topics – you could even learn about what your municipality is doing to ensure that you have a clean supply
- Organize a session at a local school about WASH – maybe in partnership with an Interact Club – this could be a session with an elementary class about the importance of hand washing
- Have a “social” event to clean up debris along a waterway, lake, creek, pond, stream, or other water source
- Prevent erosion by planting trees and native plants along a water source
- Build awareness in your community - encourage students to write essays on the importance of water and what THEY can do to protect it – start a competition!
- Explore some of the great videos on the RI site
- Research opportunities for a project you could be involved in – maybe as a partner with other clubs doing WASH projects
- Join the WASH Rotary Action Group – yep, the acronym is WASHRAG – the best acronym of the all Action groups! https://www.wasrag.org/ They have great newsletters and lots of ideas of activities you can become involved in.
- Promote World Water Day on March 22 - https://www.worldwaterday.org/2020-home/learn/
The Rotary website has a video that is about 90 seconds long that you might like to show at a meeting - https://www.rotary.org/en/our-causes/providing-clean-water - and there are LOTS of resources about planning and implementing WASH projects. We have experience in our district and can help!
Here is a photo compilation of a few WASH projects in Uganda, supported by some BC Clubs, that Louisa visited this month – it shows the old and the new!
So, trivia question, what is a WASHRAG in the Rotary world?