Water For Life

Water For Life

Sunday November 24th 2013

 Written by: Jonathan Ang

              PITCH

Water is the gift of life. It has been said that a person can survive for a month without food but only a few days without water. We use water for just about everything, for drinking, cleaning, growing crops, for the animals, for industries and even just for fun. Rwanda has abundant rainfall and water resource almost a total of 5 billion cubic meters of water per year but yet there are many places in Rwanda that do not have accessibility to clean water. 76% of the people that live in the urban areas and 63% of the people that live in rural areas have access to safe water that leaves 24% in urban area and 37% of people in rural areas without access to clean drinking water. This project will take place in Kigali, a town in Rwanda. This is the largest town with a population of 745,261. With this project there are 2 goals to be achieved. One is to provide the community with clean water and the other is to educate the people to use this clean water to stay healthy, produce better crops and improve their economic status. This way we can help build a stronger, healthier community.

This project means a lot to me because I believe that no one needs to live harshly just because they have less accessibility to certain things in life especially to the most basic need like water.  I have realized that by helping I could make a difference and maybe even help save a life and this makes me feel good about the cause. Making an impact on someone’s life is one of the most important things to me.

            CRITICAL NEED

This is a much needed project because of the demand for clean water supply in Rwanda. It is indeed alarming to know that there is a lack of clean safe water. The life expectancy in Rwanda is only 56.73 years. This is low compared to other developed countries like Canada where the life expectancy is at 80.93 years. This is because people are drinking unsafe water and are dying from disease like cholera, typhoid and diarrhea.  There is an increase in childhood deaths. 1 in 5 children in Rwanda die just from diarrheal disease alone.  28 % of women and children have to walk over 2 hours to get water to bring it back to their community. The children spend so much time finding water; they do not have any time to go to school or to study. Only 27% of students pass the National School Comprehensive Exam. They lack the education and knowledge to

build a better life for them self.  The people in Rwanda grow their own food and 90% of the farmers in Rwanda depend on farming for income but with the lack of safe water the farmers are not able to water their crops and this affects crop production and the economy of the country. The lack of clean water has affected almost all aspect of their life.

                  IMPACT

A healthier Rwanda means a healthier world. Life expectancy will increase. Once Rwandans learn how to obtain clean water they can sustain themselves. There will be decreases in disease and deaths, they will need lesser medicine to keep healthy and heath cost will decrease. Babies can live longer. Life expectancy rate will increase. Once they can provide clean water for themselves they will learn to be more independent and will require lesser help for other nations to stay health and be more prosperous in their economy.

People in the world will learn about the project and will understand what is happening in Rwanda. They can help out with money donation or by volunteering their knowledge and time to help the less fortunate.  They will see what we are doing and this can influence others to volunteer or start their own project around the world. Countries can gain help that they need and this will improve their community greatly. Everyone in the world can work together to help each other regardless of race, religion or where you live

                                                FEASIBILITY

When:  April 1^st 2014 till September 1^st  2014.

         

The individual that will help provide us with the start of this project would be Wayne Gretzky. Wayne would provide the funding for this project because he has the financial means to do so,he believes in the cause and it is very important to him to help others. Wayne Gretzky has played the highest professional hockey you can and he was the best at what he did. He set all-time records that have not been broken to this day and if you ask any minor hockey player or any adult, they will know who he is because of his achievements. They have said that he was the greatest player to play in the national hockey league and if Wayne provided us with the funding, his name would travel across the world and people would know what he did. He is a very influential person. People would follow in his footsteps and will want to help out more.                   

This project is open to all especially the youth who are interested in helping build a well in Rwanda. Volunteers can help whether they are at home or if they decide to travel to Rwanda. Donation for money, time and knowledge is required.  Posters will be made and placed at school and every sports arena to attract volunteers. The people who get involved are those who will believe that they can make a difference by providing everyone with an equal opportunity to have clean  water which is the very basic need for life and to educate  the community on how to use water to stay healthy .

 With this project, we will build a hand pumped well . A new borehole will be drilled to about 90-150 ft. The hole will be cased and concrete will be poured around the base of the well to protect it.  A hand pump will then be attached. The community will be trained to operate the well and to maintain and take care of the well. One well can supply 100 families with clean water that is approximately 500 people.
                                                             

1.       Cost estimate for each well is………………………………………….$ 10,000 x200

2.       Survey the land to find the best location for water before digging ……....$ 400

3.       Get permit from the government to dig the land……………………..….$ 100

4.       Purchase a drilling kit....……………………………………………….$ 5,500

5.       Bring in train people to supervise the project……………………...……$ 2,000

6.       Educate the community on how to maintain, repair the well and test the quality of the water...$ 500

7.       Teach sanitation, hygiene, hand washing, latrines use, irrigation ………....$ 1,500

8.    Food ($50 per person per day)..………………..………………..……$ 7,650

               Total cost to start this project will be $ 2,017,650

LAST POINTS

“Your ability to perform athletically can decline with a very small amount of dehydration; just losing 2% of your body weight in fluid can decrease performance by up to 25%.” 

This quote is by Amanda Carlson who is the director of performance nutrition for Athlete’s Performance and she trains many of the world’s top athletes.  It is important for athletes to be well hydrated so they can be stronger and can work out longer and more effectively.

• ·         One to two hours before your workout, drink 15 to 20 ounces of water
• ·         15 minutes before you begin, drink between 8 and 10 ounces of water
• ·         During your workout, drink another 8 ounces every 15 minutes.

As an athlete, I am always drinking water to keep myself hydrated to better my performance. I take drinking clean water for granted and I find it difficult to imagine a community without clean water to drink.   

ABOUT ME

My name is Jonathan Ang and I am a 15 year old student at Bill Crothers Secondary school . I am passionate about hockey. I am currently playing for the Markham Waxers Minor Midget AAA and I plan on making it to the next level. I am aware of how fortunate I am to be given the privilege of playing this sport. I cannot imagine people especially kids not having the most basic need for living compared to the luxury that I have available to me. I want to help them and make a difference that will affect them in a positive way.

"Rwandan Water Crisis." Rwandans4Water. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013."Rwanda - Water for Life." Water for Life Rwanda Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

"Wells for Rwanda." The Water Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.