As we all know, clean water is an essential part of daily life. We use it extensively, from drinking to cleaning to cooking. Singapore’s per capita household water consumption of 143 litres clearly demonstrates this!
With various sources of water from reservoirs to NEWater, Singaporeans on average can definitely afford to use as much water as we require. However, this certainly isn’t the case for poorer and less accessible communities across the world.
Water Day documentary
To commemorate World Water Day (22 March), Procter & Gamble (P&G) released a documentary titled “The Power of Clean Water” to raise awareness on the lack of access to clean drinking water by rural communities worldwide.
The documentary features the lives and stories of 3 young women whose villages and neighbourhoods face the common struggle for clean water. Among those featured are Veronica, an 18-year-old student in Indonesia, Antonia, a mother of two in Mexico and Mary, a young mother and health worker in Kenya.
The documentary, made in conjunction with National Geographic, highlights the severe consequences of consuming untreated water and the long-term impact of hindering education and survival in these rural communities. There is a deliberate focus on the impact of such an issue on the womenfolk, who require clean water to support their families and children.
Insta-purify water for those who need it the most
The documentary also introduces P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program where water purifying sachets developed by the company are introduced and distributed to the communities, where they are educated on the usage of the product as well as the benefits it could bring to them.
The sachet, researched on and produced by P&G scientists, brings the ability to clean untreated water like a water treatment plant, in the form of a four-gram packet. Such a packet allows families to purify 10 litres of water in 30 minutes, effectively providing them with potable water that could last a family for an entire day.
As stated by Claude Zukowski, Senior Manager of the programme, “We see it as our mission and responsibility to improve the lives of our consumers and employees, as well as serve the communities in which we live and work.”. The P&G CSDW Program, which started in 2004, works with more than 150 organisations to provide water purification technology to communities that lack clean drinking water. Through such a venture, P&G seeks to cement and further their efforts to positively impact communities around the world.
As individuals, we too can play our part to save water and consequently save lives. At home, technology can be employed to reduce our water consumption. This includes using smart shower devices or replacing existing non-water efficient basin taps/mixers and kitchen taps/mixers. We can also make slight adjustments to our daily routines – halving a 10-minute shower can help us save up to 45 litres of water.
Let’s play our part today in tackling the global issue of water scarcity!
View the full documentary below or visit the P&G CSDW website for more information.
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