By Claire Bronchick
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The average rural African uses just five to seven gallons of water per day, while the average American uses between 80 and 100 gallons each day! To try to get a better understanding of the severe water stress experienced by many rural Africans, Chadwick School’s Wells Bring Hope Club will be taking the Seven Gallon Challenge during the week of March 7th. Each day, we’ll be able to use only seven gallons of water for all daily activities (e.g. showering, washing hands, brushing your teeth, etc), and we’ll be sharing and reflecting on our experience via Facebook and Instagram.
By limiting daily water use and documenting the experience, we (and the people we share our experiences with) will learn how little seven gallons of water actually is. We’ll also become more aware of the difficulty that many West Africans face in getting adequate amounts of water each day, and we will learn to appreciate access to water rather than take it for granted.
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| (from left to right: Kaiden, Katie, Andie, Charlie, and Claire} |
The members of Chadwick’s Wells Bring Hope Club would like to challenge all WBH donors and volunteers to do a version of the Seven Gallon Challenge in honor of World Water Day on March 22nd. We challenge everyone who believes in the importance of saving lives with safe water to attempt to limit your water usage for one day or just track the amount of water that you use and then donate $.50 for every gallon that you go over the limit to Wells Bring Hope. Film yourself sharing the results of your Seven Gallon Challenge and then challenge your friends and family to do the challenge as well.
Wells Bring Hope Seven Gallon Challenge
What:
For one day, attempt to limit water usage to seven gallons of water a day, which is a high estimate of how much the average African uses in a day.
For every gallon over seven that you use, donate $.50 to Wells Bring Hope.
Film yourself sharing the results of the challenge. At the end of the video, call on a friend or two to take the challenge too. Post the video to social media using the hashtag #7gallon challenge. Don’t forget to tag the friends that you challenged!
Why:
By limiting daily water use and documenting the experience, both participants and the people they share their experiences with will learn how little seven gallons of water actually is, and they’ll be more of aware of the massive amounts of water Western countries consume on a daily basis.
By sharing the experience of participating in the challenge and calling on others to take it as well, we can raise awareness of the global water crisis and what Wells Bring Hope is doing to save lives with safe water.
Tips:
• From the second you wake up, carry a journal/paper with you so that you can write down all water consumption.
• Also, write down any thoughts/feelings you have during the day about the challenge so you can share them later!
• Do not forget to drink water! It is vital to your health to drink at least a half gallon of water everyday, especially if you are doing any physical activity.
Water usage for common activities:
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