Water is precious

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Water is precious
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Hello! My name is Christian. My home is in San
Juan de Lurigancho, a shantytown in Lima, Peru.
I live with my Mum and Dad at the top of a hill.
My house is made of dried plants called
rushes and wood. There are only two rooms one
for sleeping, and one for cooking and eating.
I am collecting water to take up the hill. Let
me show you around!

• Can you locate Lima on a world map?
• Where do you live?
• Where do you get your water?
• Draw a picture/attach a photo of your
• town on a piece of paper.

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In this photo my cousin Ever and I are carrying
water up to the top of the hill where we live.
We could not collect enough on our own, so my
Dad had to carry huge barrels of water, and his
back ached from the weight. It made us use water
very carefully! We dont have to do this any
more though, because CAFOD has helped our
community build a water pump to bring clean water
to the top of the hill hooray!

• What difference will the water pump make to
  Christians family?
• Can you think of different ways that water is
  used in your house?
• Can you think of ways that you and your family
  could use water more carefully?
• Draw a picture of a water-saving idea in your
  home.

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For breakfast my family only has water. I go to
school in the morning. When I get back, my Mum
makes potato soup (like in the photo) or rice
with water. In the afternoon, I have to go to
town and shine shoes for about five hours to
earn money for my family. When I get back,
there is not usually enough food for an evening
meal.

• Compare your day with Christians what
  similarities and differences do you notice?
• What would your hopes be for Christian in the
  future?
• Write or draw them on a piece of paper.

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My cousin Wilbur is pouring water over my head
whilst I am having a bath. We are having lots
of fun! I am washing outside because I do not
have a bathroom in my house. My house does not
have a flushing toilet either, so my family use a
hole in the ground and clean it out afterwards.

• Where do you wash?
• What would life be like if your family did not
  have running water?
• Draw a picture of yourself having fun with water.

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This is Ketty with her son Douglas. Ketty is
washing her familys clothes outside her home.
She earns money by washing clothes for other
people as well. This takes a long time as it is
all done by hand.

• What difference would it make to your family if
  all your clothes had to be washed by hand?
• What would make Kettys life easier?
• Draw or write your idea on a piece of paper.

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This is Carmen. She is using clean water from the
pump to wash her hands. Before the community
had clean water, there was a lot of illness and
disease. Clean water is kept in huge water
towers, and pumped to where it is needed. There
are slogans painted on the towers that say Water
is life, use only what you need, Be
responsible. Save Water, and Water is health.
Dont waste it.

• Why do you think water is life?
• Why do you think water is health?
• Why are people being asked to only use what they
  need?
• Write your own water slogan here (you could use
  pictures too).

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This is Paulina and her 12-day-old baby. She
had to carry water up the hill to her home even
when she was pregnant, and she lives right at
the top of the hill!

• How many different ways can you think of using
  water to care for babies?
• Draw some of your ideas on a piece of paper.

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For this and other regularly-updated Primary
School resources, please visit www.cafod.org.uk/p
rimary Photographs Simon Rawles