NICOLE BARRINGTON
News Writer

The Oxfam campus club will be promoting events throughout March to help bring attention to water shortages around the world.

For three days of the month, each club member and willing participants will only use 25 litres of water a day for drinking, bathing, cooking, washing and cleaning —everything.

The goal is to simulate the daily reality of 1.1 billion people who have inadequate access to water and to reduce individual water consumption.

YMCA Peace Medal recipient and  University of Winnipeg graduate Kevin Freedman started the challenge in Winnipeg in 2007. He took his own 25 litre challenge for a month, and it has expanded internationally since then.

To promote the water challenge, the campus Oxfam group will be handing out pamphlets and setting up a blog to share their “struggles, successes, frustrations, water saving tips and anecdotal stories,” said event coordinator Michelle Thompson.

Every Tuesday of the month, Oxfam will have a table set up in the Arts Tunnel or the International Student and Study Abroad Centre office to raise interest in the cause, and hopefully inspire others to try out the challenge as well.

Thompson believes the emphasis should be on the individual change.

“Donations to reputable organizations like Oxfam are great, but what we really need is for people to change their way of life,” she said.

For this reason, Oxfam will be encouraging “water pledges” more than monetary donations.

While 25 litres of water a day may seem like more than enough, it’s a lot less than one would think.  In fact, 25 litres of water is the equivalent of two toilet flushes, maybe four on a low-flush model.

Estimates vary, but according to Environment Canada, the average Canadian uses 330 litres of water per day. This is twice as much as Europeans, who use on average 150 litres of water a day. In developing countries, the average person uses 20 litres of water per day.

For people in developing countries, a water source may be within one kilometre of where they live. For most, the water source is an average of six kilometres from home.  Transporting water is a daunting endeavour for millions of women, who spend up to several hours in one day collecting water.

Surprisingly, this is not just an issue in developing countries.

“The most obvious examples of those who struggle with drought and regular access to water are perhaps Oxfam’s partners in East Africa, namely in Ethiopia and Somalia,” according to Thompson.

“However, many Aboriginal communities right here in Saskatchewan also do not have regular access to clean drinking water.”Â  Thompson believes facts like these need to be communicated in order to “bring the issue back home.”

“This should be a concern for all,” Thompson added.

Additionally, March 10 is Bottled-Water-Free Day, which is directly related to responsible water usage, and another cause that Oxfam will be support throughout the month.

“Choosing to drink water from the tap rather than bottled water is perhaps the easiest way to save water and help our environment.”

Not only does drinking bottled water mean depletion of fresh water from isolated resources, but also excess water and oil use that is needed to create, package and distribute the bottles.

Although the recycling aspect of bottled water may seem like a redeeming quality, it still requires energy (more water and oil). In addition, many large companies that produce bottled water have terrible histories of human rights abuses.

“There are so many reasons why it makes logical sense to switch to drinking water from the tap using your reusable and safe water bottle.”

Overall, the club hopes to inspire change and encourage people to experience this “unique but realistic” challenge.

See the blog for this event here.