Chapter
1. Water You Waiting For?
Usually
when the Better World Kids met for their
weekly meetings, they found themselves
magically transported from their homes
all around the world through their computers
into the hazy emptiness of cyberspace.
But this time was very different. This
time, after they typed in the web address
of their Better World Kids Team, they were
transported to a bustling water park,
where they were sitting together on
a log flume ride. Their log-boat was
rapidly rising up a steep, steep hill.
Ahmed,
the club secretary, didn't even have
time to call their meeting to order.
None of the kids had time to say their
hello's because before they knew it,
their log-boat had reached the top of
the flume. For just a moment the world
was completely still and they found
themselves holding their breaths. No
one said a word. Then, in another thrilling
instant, they suddenly began plunging
downward.
The Kids laughed and squealed in delight
as the wind rushed through their hair.
Water splashed all over them, and the
water park flashed by in a blur of exciting
colors. What a great way to start an
adventure, they thought. They were having
so much fun. But then suddenly they
noticed something was wrong.
The first sign of trouble was that they
didn't hear the sound of rushing water
anymore. They no longer felt it splashing
on their faces. Instead, wisps of sand
rushed by. As they looked over the side
of the log boat, they saw the flume
was completely dry. The log-boat was
travelling a little slower perhaps,
as the boat bumped up and down against
the sandy bottom of the flume, but they
were still plunging rapidly downwards.
As
if that weren't frightening enough,
José squeaked out another troubling
discovery. "Uh guys. Don't look now,
but we're about to crash into a giant
tower of empty plastic water bottles…"
he gasped.
The
first thought that crossed everyone's
mind was that José was joking; he was
always kidding around. But as they looked
up ahead, a giant tower of empty water
bottles was exactly what they saw. It
stretched up into the sky for as far
as they could see. And they were heading
right towards it.
"Duck
everyone!" Erin gasped as she scrunched
lower in the log-flume.
"Water
you waiting for?" José added as he saw
Johnny and Sol in the seats in front
of him hesitate just a moment. He didn't
even think to congratulate himself on
the pun his subconscious had come up
with - this was serious! But part of
him was a little disappointed that no
one laughed.
The
Kids all crouched down and braced themselves
as they smashed through the tower. Water
bottles flew everywhere as the tower
crashed down and empty bottles fell,
and fell and fell and…
As
the Kids opened their eyes they were
shocked to see that they were falling,
too, along with the billions and billions
of plastic bottles. The flume had apparently
ended at the tower; the log-boat had
fallen over, and they were all free-falling
through the blue sky. Without parachutes!
Chapter
2
Captain Kindness to the Rescue, Again…
The
Kids had been on enough adventures to
know that nothing bad could happen to
them in cyberspace. But that didn't
stop them from panicking. This was really
scary!
Just
as they were about to become really
frightened, Sunanda noticed something
swimming in the air, pushing bottles
out of the way. "Kit!" she cried out,
and all of the kids turned to where
she was pointing.
Sure
enough, Kindness Kit, the robotic cat
they'd met on a previous adventure,
was rapidly heading towards them. "Meow,"
he called out reassuringly.
Before
another instant had passed, Kit pulled
out a yarn ball from his belt with one
paw and started swinging it around his
head with his other paw. The Kids watched
as the yarn flew towards them. Miraculously,
it wrapped around each of them.
Suddenly
the line went taut and the kids stopped
falling. They watched as the robotic
cat reeled them in, pulling paw over
paw until they were floating by his
side. The water bottles rained down
all around them.
"Meow,"
Kindness Kit declared and pointed above
them.
The
Kids saw a shiny metallic spacecraft.
Of course it was the Kindness Cruiser,
piloted by none other than Kit's best
friend, Captain Kindness. Kit tossed
his end of the rope up to the ship.
As the Kids began rising towards the
Cruiser, towed in by the yarn lifeline,
they couldn't wait to see their favorite
superhero once again.
Captain
Kindness was glad to see them, too.
But when they were safely aboard, he
asked the kids to hold their questions
and hold on, because the ship was quickly
being buried under a mountain of plastic.
They
braced themselves as the Kindness Cruiser
rocketed upwards through the seemingly
endless cascade of falling bottles.
In
another instant they had broken free
of the Earth's atmosphere and the Kids
were staring down at their home planet
in shock. It was almost completely shrouded
in a blanket of floating disposable
water bottles!
Captain
Kindness was as confused as they were.
"What are those polyethylene trephthalate
thermoplastic polymer resin containers?"
he gasped.
"Uh
… those are empty plastic water bottles,"
Sol and Erin and Jamal said at the same
time.
"But
there's so many of them," Ling gasped.
"Meow,"
Kit said from the control panel, where
he was busily tapping and pulling and
pushing on the console's buttons and
levers and knobs.
"Kit's
counted 50 billion of them," Captain
Kindness translated.
Ahmed
was busy typing away on his own laptop.
"This says that's how many water bottles
people use each year…" he said. "Enough
to circle the Earth 100 times!" he added.
"Whoa!"
the Kids gasped. Captain Kindness couldn't
understand why the water bottles were
needed at all. Let alone 50 billion
of them. And that's just what he asked
the Kids.
"I
guess people find them more convenient,"
Sunanda offered.
"Sure
must use up a lot of resources," Captain
Kindness commented.
Kit
meowed a few times as he typed away
on the control panel and pulled up the
numbers he was looking for.
"Wow,"
their favorite hero sighed. "According
to Kit's research, with the amount of
petroleum that's used to make the plastic
bottles, you can heat 190,000 homes
all year long or drive a million cars
for a year..."
"And,"
Ahmed added pulling up his own research,
"another billion gallons of oil are
used up transporting the water bottles
to stores all around the world!"
"Meow,"
Kit called out.
"What?
That's crazy!" Captain Kindness laughed.
"Meow!"
Kit insisted.
"Oh,"
the Captain said. "Well, apparently
3 liters of water are used up in the
manufacturing process to create each
empty 1 liter water bottle."
"That
is crazy!" the Kids agreed.
"Whoa!"
Ahmed added looking up. "Get this… 2.5
million tons of carbon dioxide are produced
in the manufacturing process, too!"
"But
that's a greenhouse gas," Maya gasped.
"That means using plastic water bottles
is making global climate change worse!"
Captain
Kindness shook his head sadly. "Well
at least the used bottles are all recycled,
right?" he asked.
"Meow."
"Really?"
the Captain sighed. "According to the
figures, four out of five water bottles
end up in landfills, or are dumped into
the oceans…"
"It
can take a thousand years for plastic
to completely break down," Erin pointed
out.
The
Kids all agreed that this was a terrible
situation.
Everyone
seemed so quiet and thoughtful. "So...
Water we going to do about it?" José
asked in his usual half-joking half-serious
way, to try to liven up the mood a little.
Even though no one seemed to notice
the recycled joke he'd already used
on their adventure, thinking about a
positive solution was just what they
all needed.
"Meow,"
Kit said.
"Right!"
the Captain agreed. Kit punched some
controls and a panel opened up on the
outside of the Cruiser. A big vacuum
cleaner wheeled out into space and started
sucking up the bottles.
"We'll
get these off to recycling plants right
away," the Captain explained. "But what
are we going to do about this situation
for the long run…?" he asked. "The earth
will be covered in more bottles in no
time!"
The
Kids put their thinking caps on. "We'll
just have to get the word out about
what a problem plastic water bottles
are!" Ahmed said.
"Yes,
we'll let people know about better alternatives,"
Sunanda agreed.
"In
many places tap water is perfectly safe
to drink," Johnny offered.
"We
have a filter on our faucet," Michiko
agreed.
"We
use a water pitcher filter," Ling said.
"I
use a refillable water bottle," Sol
said reaching into his backpack and
pulling his out to show everyone.
"Me,
too," Maya and Ahmed declared.
"I'm
going to get one as soon as I get home!"
José promised. "No more plastic water
bottles for me! No way José!"
Captain
Kindness looked really pleased. "Kit
and I had been passing by your galaxy
when we saw the Red Alert coming from
Earth. It said you had a 'water emergency!'"
He looked out as the vacuum cleaner
rolled back into the ship - its job
complete. "Well, first we saved you
all … by the way, good job Kit," he
said to his trusty side-kick.
"Meow,"
Kit purred proudly, looking up from
the control panel.
"And
we figured out a solution to the bottled
water problem," Captain Kindness continued.
"So I guess the crisis is over," he
concluded.
"Hooray!"
the Kids exclaimed together. Captain
Kindness had saved the day, once again!
"Meow!"
Kit said concernedly.
"Are
you sure?" Captain Kindness gasped.
"Meow,"
Kit assured him.
"Kit
says the problem is much, much more
serious than we realized," Captain Kindness
said to them. "Kit says we're really
going to need your help on this one!"
The
Better World Kids assured him they were
definitely up to the task.
"Alright
Kit, let's check this out right away,"
Captain Kindness said determinedly.
Kit
tapped away on the panel. The Kindness
Cruiser locked into a hyperlink, and
they rocketed down towards the Earth.
Chapter
3
Water, Water Everywhere,
But Not Enough to Drink …
(And not enough toilets, too)
As
the Kindness Cruiser sped towards the
Earth, Captain Kindness sighed. The
Earth's beauty always filled him with
such wonder. It was definitely near
the top of his Top Ten Most Amazing
Planets list. "I just don't see
how there could be a water crisis…"
he muttered. "More than 70% of Earth
surface is covered by the oceans!"
"Meow,"
Kit reminded him.
"Oh
yeah," Captain Kindness nodded. "You're
right. I forgot humans can't drink salt
water."
Kit
meowed more somberly as he continued
tapping the controls.
"That's
terrible," the Captain gasped.
"What
is it?" Erin asked and all the other
Kids had the same question on their
mind as they stared out at their beautiful
home planet rapidly approaching.
"Kit
says that nearly a billion people on
Earth don't have access to safe, clean
drinking water!"
Ahmed
had found some statistics on his laptop,
too. "This says that two-and-a-half
billion people don't have toilets, either…!"
he said unbelievingly.
"Meow,"
Kit added slowly. It was painful to
say.
Their
favorite superhero was heartbroken as
he translated: "Every day 4000 children
die because of lack of water or diseases
caused by unsafe and contaminated water..."
Everyone
was sadly silent in the last few moments
before they burst through the atmosphere
and sailed over the Earth's surface.
"Oh,
look, we're flying over the Indian Ocean…"
Sunanda exclaimed. "India is just up
ahead…"
In
another instant they were flying over
a tiny rural Indian village. Below,
a line of women and children were anxiously
waiting at the water tap in the middle
of their community, each holding several
jugs and pails. They'd been waiting
for hours because the water truck was
late, again.
One
young girl near the front of the line
was especially nervous as she finally
got to fill her containers. Hurriedly
she turned and lugged them as fast as
she could towards her home at the edge
of the village. Today she had made sure
she was very early in line. Last time
there was only enough water left for
one of her containers when it was her
turn. Since the water truck only came
every other day, her family had barely
enough water to drink, let alone wash
their dishes and bathe over the past
two days.
The
Kids all wanted to help the girl carry
the heavy buckets of water, so Captain
Kindness gently landed the Cruiser beside
her.
At
first the girl was frightened; who wouldn't
be scared if a spaceship suddenly landed
in front of them! But when Sunanda spoke
to her in Hindi, the girl smiled. She
told them her name was Anjali, and she
was so thankful for their help.
But
then suddenly Anjali's face was filled
with panic again. "I've been waiting
in line for hours and I'm going to be
late for school again!" Anjali explained.
"We have no water left at all, and I'll
have to make a second trip…" she sighed.
"Last time I was this late, Teacher
punished me by making me spend half
the day outside the classroom." Anjali
started crying. "I'm getting so far
behind in my studies…"
"Come
on, we'll give you a ride," Sunanda
said comfortingly.
In
a flash they brought Anjali and her
water buckets back home. When they got
there, Kit filled some other containers
with fresh water reserves from the Cruiser
so that she wouldn't have to make a
second trip."
"Thank
you so much," Anjali said a little more
happily. "But I still have to get to
school. It's in the next village, and
by now class has already started…"
"Not
a problem!" Captain Kindness assured
her.
Anjali
was so excited when they gave her a
ride to school in the Cruiser, but she
was still very worried that she'd be
late. What a surprise it was when it
turns out they arrived at the school
before any of the other children! The
Cruiser had soared so much faster than
the speed of light that time had gone
backwards!
The
Kids couldn't believe it. "Elementary
physics," Captain Kindness assured them.
"Thank
you so much!" Anjali said as she waved
goodbye. Her friends were just arriving
and they couldn't believe their eyes.
They all gathered around Anjali to hear
her story about flying in the strange
spaceship as the Cruiser rose up into
the air and rocketed off into the distance.
They
flew over many countries like Bangladesh,
Haiti, Kenya and Ethiopia. And everywhere
they went they saw the same thing -
women and children travelling long distances
to carry heavy buckets and jars and
jugs filled with water, day in and day
out.
Finally,
they reached a village in Ethiopia.
Women and children were getting their
water from a shallow pond that oxen
were standing in, drinking too. Kit
sighed sadly. "Meow," he told them.
Captain
Kindness shook his head. "That just
doesn't seem right," he sighed. "Oh,"
he said looking up at the Kids who were
waiting for him to translate. "Women
and children around the world spend
200 million hours a day collecting the
daily water they need for their families.
And look, it's often from shallow wells
and unprotected ponds and streams like
this one that are easily contaminated."
The
Kids shook their heads in disbelief,
too.
"Surely
somebody's doing something about this,
right?" Captain Kindness asked with
tears in his eyes.
"Meow…"
Kit piped up.
"Oh…"
Captain Kindness said with a hint of
a smile. "Kit's got some more hopeful
things to show us, now…"
"Well
it's about time!" José exclaimed. "Come
on Kit, water you waiting for?" he added
hesitantly.
José
was starting to feel more than a little
discouraged. This was the third time
he'd tried the same pun and still no
one had noticed! But then in another
instant they were soaring into a hyperlink,
and he, like all the others, held on
and enjoyed the exciting cyber-rush
roller-coaster feeling that hyperlink-jumping
always gave them.
Chapter
4
An Agenda for the Earth
As
the Cruiser descended through the clouds
and coasted over the ocean, the Kids
saw that they were heading towards the
coastline of a bustling city.
"Meow,"
Kit declared.
"Rio
de Janeiro!" all of the Kids exclaimed
at once.
"Wait…You
can all understand Kit-talk now?" Captain
Kindness exclaimed. He was very surprised.
The
Kids laughed and pointed up ahead at
a landmark all of them had recognized
immediately. High up on a hilltop overlooking
the city they saw the giant, unmistakable
Christ the Redeemer statue. It was so
famous that even Captain Kindness remembered
seeing it in his Intergalactic-History
books from when he was their age.
"Meow,"
Kit pointed out as they sailed past
the statue and approached a large crowd
gathered around a stage of speakers.
"This
is early June, 1992," Ahmed said. "We're
here for the Earth Summit." Everyone
assumed he'd gathered that information
from his laptop, but his laptop was
on stand-by. The truth was he was starting
to understand everything Kit said!
"Meow,"
Kit confirmed.
The
Cruiser floated over the crowd of women,
men and children from many different
countries. They were all paying close
attention to the speakers. Some were
waving their nation's flags. A huge
ball was being batted around over the
crowd. It was a giant globe, painted
with the oceans and continents of the
Earth. Some of the kids in the crowd
looked up at the Cruiser and waved.
"Meow,"
Kit pointed out.
"Kit
says that this is when the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
took place. That's the official name
of the Earth Summit. More than 150 nations
came together for discussions, to make
plans and to sign treaties. Almost 120
Presidents and Prime Ministers were
there! It was a major step forward for
the world to work together to address
serious environmental problems like
global climate change, alternative energy
sources, protecting animal and plant
species and the lack of safe, fresh
drinking water…"
"These
look like ordinary people like us,"
Ling pointed out as they reached the
edge of the crowd and headed toward
some buildings.
"Meow."
"That's
right. Kit says that whenever the United
Nations holds major world conferences
about a particular issue, government
officials aren't the only ones to attend.
NGO representatives are also invited
to participate… Uh…But wait, what's
a 'ngo'? Sounds like we're missing a
vowel or two?"
"Non-governmental
organization!" Jamal said first, with
several of the other kids chiming in.
"Oh.
Okay," Captain Kindness said. "Well,
apparently civil society's participation
at UN events really started here at
the Earth Summit. Nearly 20,000 people
gathered for the NGO Global Summit that
took place at the same time. They wanted
to really make sure that the people's
concerns were heard. Since then, these
parallel summits almost always take
place, and civil society has a much
greater voice at the 'official' meetings,
too."
They
had reached one of the buildings and
the Cruiser hovered outside a large
window. Peering inside they saw a huge
crowded hall, where men and women in
suits or in formal native dress listened
intently to the speaker on the stage.
"This
must be where the world leaders hung
out," José observed.
"Meow,"
Kit confirmed.
"That's
no world leader speaking!" Michiko declared
pointing to the young girl who was addressing
the room.
This
time Ahmed did the web-research. "That's
twelve year old Severn Suzuki from Canada,"
he told them. "Wow, look at this youtube
video about her speech here. It's got
millions and millions and millions of
views. It's called The Girl Who Silenced
The World For 5 Minutes."
Ahmed
raised the volume on the video so that
they could hear it. The Kids blinked
when they heard her voice in stereo,
because the girl on the stage was at
the same place in her speech as in the
video.
"If
you don't know how to fix the environment,
please stop breaking it!" the two Severns
were saying.
The
audience was completely silent, but
when she finished her speech there was
a roar of applause.
The
Cruiser inched along to another window
where they peeked in on another day
at the conference. Inside they saw Heads
of State and delegates and other Earth
Summit participants signing their names
on one of the walls in the large room.
At the top of the wall they saw large
green letters that spelled out EARTH
PLEDGE, and beneath it they read together
what everyone was promising to do:
"Recognizing
that people's actions toward nature
and each other are the source of growing
damage to the environmental resources
needed to meet human needs and ensure
survival and development, I PLEDGE to
act to the best of my ability to help
make the Earth a secure and hospitable
home for present and future generations."
The
Earth Pledge was definitely something
all of the Kids believed in. "We want
to sign it," they whispered.
"Meow,"
Kit agreed.
"Me,
too!" Captain Kindness declared and
he proudly led the way as they stepped
through the window.
When
they were done and were climbing back
into the awaiting Cruiser, Kit explained
that an important document called Agenda
21 was created at the Earth Summit.
It outlined specific goals that world
leaders and civil society wanted to
achieve in the approaching 21st Century
in order to conserve the environment
and reduce poverty while protecting
the earth.
"It's
also where the idea for World Water
Day was presented!" Ahmed added.
"Meow."
"That's
right," Captain Kindness translated.
"The world started observing it on March
22 the very next year! Since then World
Water Day has become an important date
to raise awareness about this serious
global issue of the lack of clean, safe
drinking water for all!"
"Meow!"
Kit announced.
"Kit
wants to show us some of the World Water
Day celebrations over the years," Ahmed
translated before Captain Kindness could
get the words out. He smiled and patted
Ahmed on the shoulder.
"Meow,"
Kit added.
"But
first, hang on. We've got to witness
another important pledge the world agreed
to…" Ahmed and Captain Kindness translated
together.
Kit
tapped the controls. In a flash they
zipped along a hyperlink and emerged
over New York City. The Kids spotted
a familiar building in the distance
and quickly realized they were heading
for one of their favorite places: the
United Nations.
The
Cruiser coasted up to the Visitor's
Entrance and hovered near the back of
the long line. Someone turned and noticed
the strange spaceship and screamed.
Like a rippling row of dominoes, shrieks
and gasps spread all the way up the
line. People dashed, darted and dove
into the courtyard.
The
Guards at the entrance were shocked
at first as the spacecraft floated up
to the front of the now empty line.
But when they saw the Kids peeking out
of the spacecraft's windshield, smiles
spread across their faces; the Better World Kids were welcomed and frequent VIP
visitors at the UN. "Come on in!" the
guards waved.
Captain
Kindness tilted the Cruiser sideways
so it could fit through the metal detector,
and in they sailed. The Guards waved
with a chuckle. The spaceship glided
along the maze-like corridors until
they reached the lobby outside the General
Assembly Hall.
The
Guard at the door stood frozen in place
with his mouth hanging open as he stared
at the spaceship hovering beside him.
But then he saw the Kids waving and
he relaxed and laughed nervously. "You
Kids always make such a grand entrance.
Last time you came on a giant flying
eagle… and I heard that one time you
arrived aboard a giant golden crane!"
The
Kids giggled.
"Well,
are you coming in?" the Guard asked.
"We're
only here for a quick peek. If that's
okay?" Captain Kindness told him and
held a badge (which had mysteriously
appeared on a chain around his neck)
up to the windshield.
The
Guard shook his head amusedly as he
checked the badge through the glass.
He shrugged before he opened the door.
Peeking
in, the Kids immediately recognized
that they were back in September 2000
at the special Millennium Assembly.
They'd been here before and they knew
it was a very important gathering to
discuss goals and plans for the whole
planet to work together for a better
world in the New Millennium. They'd
arrived right in the middle of discussions
about the Millennium Development Goals
- a significant set of milestones that
all nations agreed to work together
to achieve.
The
Speaker was just outlining Goal Number
Seven about achieving environmental
sustainability. They listened as the
audience applauded after hearing the
part about the pledge to cut in half
the number of people without access
to clean water and proper sanitation.
"Hmm…"
Captain Kindness sighed. "This was a
long time ago, but your planet still
has a long way to go to achieve that
goal!" he said to the Kids. He forced
a smile and turned to his co-pilot.
"Well, let's see some of those Water
Day celebrations now, Kit."
Kit
tapped on the controls and Captain Kindness
looked down at the Guard at the door.
"Thank you," he saluted and the Cruiser
disappeared down a hyperlink.
The
Guard shook his head. He was fairly
new here at the UN and was still trying
to memorize everything in the training
manual. "They've really got to update
that manual," he mumbled. "They never
prepared me for stuff like this!"
Chapter
5
So Many Ways To Help
The
Kids jetted back and forth through cyberspace
and cybertime peeking in on all kinds
of workshops and conferences, meetings
and water celebrations. They danced
and sang at concerts, and joined in
walkathons and community gatherings.
They took part in candlelight vigils
and helped plant peacepoles that shared
the message, "May Peace Prevail On Earth!"
They bought cookies and cupcakes at
bake sales to raise money for organizations
working to bring clean water and sanitation
to poor neighborhoods. They painted
their thumbs blue and posted pictures
of themselves holding up their thumbs
on their Facebook pages to remind people
about the water crisis. There were so
many ways to bring communities together
and help them think about the urgent
water crisis all around the world.
Each
year World Water Day celebrations featured
a different theme, and worldwide celebrations
were organized by the UN Agency that
dealt with that particular issue. The
Kids were amazed at how interconnected
the water problem was with so many other
issues that people were trying to fix.
Each of the Kids found that they had
a particular favorite World Water Day
theme.
Sunanda
and Maya's favorite was 1995's Women
and Water theme. They learned that
when women don't have to waste so much
of their days fetching water from very
distant places, they have time to improve
their lives. They are able to get jobs
that bring in income to make life better
for themselves and their families. Young
girls don't have to miss time at school
and can get the education they need
for a brighter future.
The
Water and Cities themes in 1996
and 2011 opened Michiko's eyes to the
urgent problems that many large cities
around the world face in keeping up
with their residents' growing needs
for safe, clean drinking water.
Jamal
thought 2004's Water and Disaster
theme pointed out how overlooked access
to water resources was when people deal
with natural disasters like tornadoes
and floods and droughts.
Ling
and Johnny were amazed by 2006's observance
of Water and Culture. They never
realized that various cultures around
the world looked at, used and celebrated
water so differently. They were awed
at how large a part water played in
various religious ceremonies. They were
fascinated when they saw just a glimpse
of the many ways water has been portrayed
in paintings, music, books and movies.
José
thought that 2008's focus on Sanitation
was something everyone should know about.
The Kids figured he was going to make
a joke that was sure to include something
about 'Number Two'. But for once he
was serious and simply said he thought
that everyone should know that one out
of three people in the world don't have
a toilet. "We've got to do something
about this!" he insisted.
Erin
was a vegetarian and 2012's focus on
Water and Food Security really
meant a lot to her. She'd never realized
how much water it takes to grow the
foods we eat. It takes 200 gallons of
water to grow a pound of wheat, which
she thought seemed like a lot at first.
Until she saw that it takes 2000 gallons
of water for a pound of meat. She never
liked to preach about her decision to
be a vegetarian, but she smiled when
she discovered that her choice was actually
helping to conserve water. What she
did decide she was going to talk about
when she got home was how much perfectly
good food people waste. Not only are
they wasting food, but they're wasting
all the water it took to make that food,
too! By convincing supermarkets and
restaurants to donate their excess food
to soup kitchens and food banks, they'd
also be helping to save water for the
planet!
Ahmed
and Sol both thought that 2014's focus
on Water and Energy was one of
the most important themes. None of the
Kids had realized how closely connected
water and energy were. Water is needed
to produce nearly all of the energy
sources people use for electricity,
to heat their homes, run their cars
and power their MP3 players and cell
phones. And energy is needed to extract,
treat and deliver water for us to use.
When we save energy we're also saving
water, and when we save water we save
energy.
"Whenever
we work to conserve one of them…" Ahmed
started to say to the Kids.
"We're
really solving two problems," Sol finished.
"Two
for the price of one!" they said together.
Everyone
laughed. Even José. But the truth is
he was a little jealous, because no
one had laughed at any of his jokes
today.
As
much as the Kids enjoyed seeing the
many ways people got the word out, what
really moved them was seeing how people
were solving the problem.
In
their travels they learned about a lot
of different organizations that were
helping lead the way to making sure
that everyone has clean drinking water.
Like Charity: Water which has helped
more than 2.5 million people by funding
more than 6000 projects around the world
to dig or fix wells or put in place
other water sources like systems to
capture rainwater for drinking.
Many
of the places they saw people helping
were through UNICEF projects. They already
knew that UNICEF was the United Nations
Children's Fund, but they didn't know
that UNICEF works in 90 countries to
bring drinkable water and sanitation
to schools and communities by providing
funding for things like drilling wells,
installing water pumps and providing
water filters. It also helps educate
about the importance of washing with
soap to reduce the spread of diseases.
The
Kids were so excited to find out about
the UNICEF Tap Project event that takes
place during the week around World Water
Day. Restaurants help raise money for
the Tap Project by asking diners to
donate $1 to UNICEF for the tap water
they are normally served free. The Kids
couldn't wait to ask their favorite
restaurants to get involved when they
got back home.
In
a small village in Kenya the Kids learned
about Water.org's WaterCredit program.
A young boy named Joseph proudly showed
the Kids the outhouse his family had
just built, thanks to a small loan they
had gotten through the program. The
Kids had never imagined someone could
be so excited about having a toilet,
but this was the first time Joseph's
family didn't have to be embarrassed
every time they had to find someplace
at the edge of town just to go to the
bathroom.
Finally
they had reached their last stop. It
was the very same village in India where
they had met Anjali. Peering down from
the Cruiser the Kids saw her and her
friends looking on as their parents
were digging a well in the center of
their community that Water.org had financed.
Just then Anjali and her friends looked
up and noticed the spaceship. They waved
and they looked so happy that the Kids
were filled with a huge surge of hope.
The
Better World Kids suddenly felt that tingly
feeling they always got just before
they were somehow magically transported
back to their homes all around the world.
"Meow…"
Kit said a little sadly from the control
panel.
All
of the Kids understood immediately.
"We're going to miss you, too, Kit!"
they exclaimed and hugged their favorite
robo-cat.
"Yes,
Kit and I have to get going too," Captain
Kindness sighed as he hugged the Kids.
"Kit's just gotten an urgent call for
help from a planet in a constellation
three galaxies over…"
"But
we'll see you again soon, right?" Ling
asked and all of the other Kids hoped
so, too.
"Absolutely!"
Captain Kindness declared.
"Meow!"
Kit promised.
Before
they said their final good-byes, Captain
Kindness wanted to go over one last
time all of the things the Kids were
going to do to help when they got back
home.
"There
are so many ways we can 'Do One Thing
for a Better World!" Michiko exclaimed.
"And
together we make a world of difference!"
Ling added.
"First
of all I'm going to make sure I don't
waste water…" Jamal declared.
"Yeah,
I'm going to make sure I don't let the
water run when I brush my teeth," José
promised. "I forget sometimes."
"Don't
forget, no more disposable plastic water
bottles," Johnny reminded everyone.
"And
I'm going to save water by conserving
energy," Ling promised.
"Yeah,
I often forget to turn off the lights
when I'm not using them," Michiko admitted.
"And
I'm going to raise a lot of money for
Water.org!" Sol insisted.
"And
Charity: Water, the UNICEF Tap Project,
and Water Collective, too!" Ahmed added.
"I'm
going to urge all my Facebook friends
to get involved!" Sunanda said.
"We'll
do stuff all year round, but we'll also
plan something really cool for World
Water Day!" Erin declared.
The
Kids had a lot more ideas about what
they could do. But it was getting late.
"Meow,"
Kit said.
"So
water you waiting for?" Captain Kindness
translated.
Everyone
laughed. Everyone except José. "Hey!
I've been saying that exact same thing
this entire adventure!" he complained.
"Water
you talking about, José?" the Kids all
laughed just before the meeting was
adjourned. Until the next adventure
with the Better World Team, of course.
>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<
For more information about what you
can do:
www.Water.org
www.UNWater.org
www.CharityWater.org
www.Tap.UNICEFUSA.org
WaterAid.org
www.TheWaterCollective.org
www.DoOneThing.org/water
