For children to grow up healthy and happy, they need access to clean water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene. For most of us, that’s a given and probably something we routinely take for granted, but around the world, there are millions of children without access to these basic amenities.
Water and sanitation-related diseases are one of the biggest causes of death for children under five around the world. Every day, more than 800 children die from preventable diseases caused by unclean water, or a lack of sanitation and hygiene.
Poor sanitation, water and hygiene affect more than just children’s health. Children – particularly girls – often miss out on education because schools lack proper toilets and hand-washing facilities. Others miss out because they have to spend their days making long journeys to collect clean water rather than going to school.
During conflict and disasters, children often lose access to safe water and a clean environment. When large groups of people seek to flee conflict, the resulting makeshift settlements and lack of sanitation are often a haven for communicable diseases.
Save the Children’s Emergency Fund
With one in six children now living in conflict, and the number of natural disasters higher than ever before, Save the Children’s Emergency Fund has never been more crucial in responding on the ground to provide children with safe, clean water.
Castle Water and its customers are helping to give children caught up in emergencies access to safe, clean drinking water when they need it most. Activities include trucking in life-saving clean water supplies and providing water purification tablets, as well as building wells, constructing latrines, establishing water treatment plants and carrying out hygiene education activities.
By providing families with access to clean water, and creating a sanitary environment for them to live, Save the Children are giving children the chance not just to survive, but to thrive. Every child should be able to make their mark on the world and build a better future for themselves.
For more information about Save the Children’s Emergency Fund visit here. www.savethechildren.org.uk/emergency
Christmas Jumper Day
Castle Water employees will participate in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day for the third year running on Friday 13 December.
As partners of Save the Children, Castle Water supports Save the Children’s Emergency fund during the year, but Christmas Jumper Day is a chance to support a variety of other initiatives.
Here are just a few examples of what Save the Children can do with the money raised from Christmas Jumper Day:
- £1 could buy a set of pencils to help a child write and learn
- £2 could pay for antibiotics for eight children suffering from pneumonia, one of the biggest killers of children
- £5 could buy a winter jacket for a child in Syria
- £20 could provide a mother and newborn baby with vital supplies to keep them healthy
- £60 could provide educational toys and books to support children from low-income families in the UK
- £85 could provide a bicycle for a health worker in Kenya so they can care for children in places cars can’t reach
- £200 could buy a stove and fuel to heat a classroom for five months
Employees will donate £2 to wear their festive knits on the day, and fundraising will be topped up with a ‘Naff Raff’ Raffle and a Christmas ‘Bake off’ competition. Castle Water aims to smash last year’s Christmas Jumper Day fundraising total of £1,088 and is looking for customer support to achieve this. Castle Water has organised a ‘text to donate’ code where £2 will be sent straight to Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day fund. To contribute £2, text ‘TEAMCASTLEW’ to 70050*.
Help us give more
Throughout December, Castle Water will also donate an extra £100 to the Emergency Fund for every existing customer who switches their payment method to Direct Debit. Full offer terms and conditions can be viewed here.
* Text TEAMCASTLEW to 70050 to donate £2 to Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day. You'll be billed £2 plus standard rate text message. We receive 100% of your donation. By texting TEAMCASTLEW you agree to calls about fundraising appeals, campaigns, events and other ways to support. Include NO PHONE to opt out of calls. Queries? 02070126400. Read our Privacy Policy www.savethechildren.org.uk/privacy.
