Just Water

Event information

To take on the ultimate new year detox, you'll need to drink nothing but water – for a week or the whole month – and fundraise to give others the gift of clean water.

After the indulgence of the festive season, January is the perfect time to give your body a fresh start (and your bank balance a boost)!

By getting sponsored for this challenge you'll help reach the almost 1 in 10 people around the world who don't have clean water close to home. Drink water, give water. Are you in?

Sign up for Just Water

Sign up as a school

No squash, no juice, no sugary fizzy drinks – can your pupils take on the challenge?

We'll send you free tools and activities to help your students stay motivated as they learn about the importance of clean water, and reflect on what life would be like without it.

Sign up as a school

Take it on as a team

Get your friends, family or colleagues involved and take on Just Water as a team.

You could make the challenge more manageable by splitting up the month between you, or you could all do the full four weeks and raise even more sponsorship! It's up to you – just make sure everyone in your team signs up.

Not quite convinced yet? Here are three good reasons to join us:

1. Do good for others

Drink water, give water – it's as simple as that. Get sponsored to drink Just Water and you'll help bring clean water to people around the world.

See where your money will go

2. Do good for you

Kickstart the New Year with the ultimate detox! Drinking nothing but water is the perfect way to reset your system after the indulgence of Christmas.

Sign up now

3. Challenge yourself

Focus on your willpower and dig deep to avoid the temptations of your morning cuppa or Friday night pint.

How we'll help you

The difference your fundraising can make

Chinganji, a remote collection of villages in southern Malawi, is a place of two halves.

Some families have clean water close to home. But others, like 13-year-old Hastings', don't.

Hastings carries a large container on his head as he fetches water from the borehole.
Hastings has no choice but to wake early to fetch water from a neighbouring village.

Every day, he wakes up at 4am to begin the long walk to the closest borehole with his mother. And after school, he makes the same journey again.

The happiest day of my life was when the school got taps.

Hastings has experienced first-hand the difference clean water can make: in 2021, we worked with the local community to build a water system at his school.

Hastings smiles as he washes his hands with clean water from one of the taps at his school.
The taps at his school mean Hastings no longer has to spend his breaktimes drawing water from a borehole.

Now, we plan to extend the network so everyone here, including Hastings, can turn on the taps to clean water – and with it, a brighter future.

Having clean water would make a really big difference. We wouldn't have to wake up early, and we'd be able to do the things that we can't now.

When you're sponsored to drink Just Water, you're helping to bring life-changing clean water to Chinganji – and to more communities like it, both in Malawi and around the world.

Sign up for Just Water

Meet some past Just Water champions

Joanna from Kensington who took part in WaterAid's Just Water challenge "People think I'm crazy to only drink water for a year. My advice to others is get used to sparkling water, have a slice of lemon or lime, and add ice. Dark chocolate makes up for it too!" - Joanna Image: WaterAid/Sarah Raoufian
Mimi after her fundraising for WaterAid Mimi after her fundraising for WaterAid Image: WaterAid
Mary, who took part in Just Water in 2018 "I feel healthier after doing Just Water. So much so that I'll be drinking a lot more water now - especially hot water, which I've developed a liking for." - Mary

Please note: for most people drinking more water can only be a good thing, but if you're worried about how it might affect you then please consult your doctor before starting the challenge.