WaterAid launches animation to highlight how a lack of clean water keeps girls out of school

Posted by
Laura Crowley
on
15 December 2021
Pabina Outside
Image: WaterAid

WaterAid is today launching a new animation calling out the impact a lack of access to clean water and sanitation facilities has on girls’ education in Nepal and around the world.  

The animation, titled ‘The girl who turned to water’, depicts girls in a classroom who wash away as water themselves to symbolise how having to walk to collect water keeps them from school. The animation is aimed at highlighting the inequality caused by a lack of access to clean water, while also raising money for the international charity’s Thirst for Knowledge appeal to help girls build a better future. 

Globally, 771 million people – that’s one in ten - have no clean water close to home. The animation is based on the experiences of one such person – 14-year-old schoolgirl Pabina, from Lahan, South Eastern Nepal, whilst simultaneously showing the global issue of access to clean water and sanitation across the world.   

Nepal’s extreme landscapes, earthquakes and changing climate all contribute to making it difficult to reach people with vital facilities. The water in Pubina’s school is yellow and dirty, and there’s only one toilet block, which the headteacher says is in a ‘critical’ condition, meaning most children relieve themselves in the fields. Many girls skip school when on their period due to the lack of facilities.  

Pabina explains: 

“The school should have clean drinking water, a toilet, and a place to change pads during menstruation. Girls like me have to go to school to study and to achieve things in the future. If we don’t go to school, it will affect our future negatively since we can’t do as many things that others can.” Through its appeal, WaterAid will help bring clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to schools and homes in Nepal and around the world, transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people like Pabina. The UK government will match public donations made between 16 November 2021 and 15 February 2022 up to £2 million, helping bring these vital facilities to 28,000 people and 30 schools in the Bardiya district of Nepal. 

The animation was created in collaboration with BAFTA winning animation studio Second Homes Studios, and the music is a track by US-based Nepali musician Ankit Shrestha called Eutai Aakash, meaning One Sky.  

Tadg O’Keeffe, Film Producer at WaterAid, said:  

“A third of schools are without clean water and sanitation facilities, affecting the opportunities of millions of people. The issue is especially acute for girls, with many skipping school during their period if there are no decent toilets, while women and girls collect water in 4 out of 5 households, often keeping them from getting an education or earning a living. 

“By basing the film on Pabina, we were able to create a thought-provoking film that brought to life the issues faced by so many girls around the world.  

“With access to clean water, toilets and soap in schools, barriers can be taken down to ensure girls can complete their education and build a better future for themselves and their families” 

WaterAid’s appeal will help construct new, sustainable school water systems, decent toilets, and drinking water stations with handwashing facilities, enabling children to easily wash, drink and go to the toilet without missing lessons. Provision will be made for girls to manage their periods safely and hygienically, so they no longer worry about missing out on their education or fetching water. 

Find out more and donate at wateraid.org/uk/thirst-for-knowledge

ENDS  

For more information, please contact: 

Jemima Young, Senior Media Officer, [email protected]. Or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552, or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors: 

UK Aid Match   
 
The UK Government will match donations made to the Thirst for Knowledge appeal between 16 November 2021 and 15 February 2022, up to £2million, making double the impact for communities in Nepal. With the match funding the public will unlock from the UK government, WaterAid will work with local partners in the Bardiya district in Nepal to construct water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in 30 schools, to promote children’s rights through child clubs and to run income-boosting activities such as making liquid soap and sanitary pads.   
 

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets.

For more information, visit our website wateraid.org/uk, follow us on Twitter @WaterAidUK@WaterAid or @WaterAidPress, or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.

  • 785 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
  • 2 billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
  • Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
  • Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]
  • Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] Prüss-Ustün et al. (2014) and The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2018)

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] wateraid.org/uk