Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
While it is easy to access clean water in Hong Kong, it is still scarce in many other parts of the world. Some people often walk several kilometres every day to collect water that could be contaminated.
The non-profit organisation World Vision held a “Global 6K for Water” in the South Korean city of Seoul last September. It is a run where participants carry water buckets to understand the hardship faced by those without access to clean water.
The global charity brought the event to Hong Kong for the first time last December, encouraging participants to raise funds to support water and sanitation efforts across countries in Africa. These projects help more children access drinkable water.
Why does water matter?
The 6km distance in the event represents the average daily walk that some have to take to fetch water in remote parts of the African continent.
Water quality is a matter of life and death. Lacking safe water for sanitation is linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.
According to the United Nations, more than 360,000 children under the age of five die each year from diarrhoea as a result of poor sanitation and drinking contaminated water.
‘How lucky we are’
Three World Vision Hong Kong youth ambassadors participated in the South Korea run on September 12, carrying a four-litre water container during the race. They found the run physically challenging, and it was a grim reminder of the importance of drinkable water.
Tony Ng Kai-hin, 20, was struck by the knowledge that participants in South Korea had about water scarcity. Many ran to raise awareness, not just for a good time, the university student noted.
“In Hong Kong, it’s rare to experience a shortage. You can wash your hands in public restrooms, and water fountains are available. Water scarcity isn’t something we usually consider,” Ng said.
He added: “I realised how lucky we are to have clean water everywhere [in Hong Kong], while on the other side of the world, some children miss school because they have to fetch water and face dangers along the way.”
Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.
Quiz time
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Stop and think: What is the significance of the six kilometre distance in the charity run? The 6km represents the average distance that people in remote parts of Africa have to walk in order to find clean water.
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Consider: What surprised Tony Ng Kai-hin about the event in South Korea? Ng said that he was surprised at how knowledgeable and aware the South Korean participants were regarding the topic of water scarcity.
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Answer this: What are some dangers of unclean water? If you drink unsanitary water, you can get diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.
