World Water Day Celebrations

22^nd March, 2008

Realizing that the world is running out of fresh water and the crisis looms as one of the greatest threats ever to the survival of our planet, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro decided to celebrate this day every year on March, 22 to re-evaluate our relationship to this finite resource of the Blue Planet.

Hisaar Foundation celebrated world water day on 22^nd March 2008 in keeping with its mission of establishing strategic platforms that promote, influence and participate in the conservation of water. A two hour seminar on “Engaging Women and Youth” was held at the Carlton Hotel which was partially sponsored by Muslim Commercial Bank. The seminar was organized under the auspices of Karachi Water Partnership, an initiative of Hisaar Foundation and its School Programme. The seminar was attended by individual partners and partner organizations of KWP, members of Hisaar Foundation, KWP Committee members, representatives of NGOs and civil society organizations, community women from Gulshan-e-Sikandarabad, school heads, teachers and school children of 6 partner schools. The total number of participants who attended exceeded 250 people, out of which 150 were school children.

As a result of concentrated work with schools, teachers and children under the School Programme, 6 schools entered a competition on water, on which they worked for 3 months. The six schools that participated included the AMI School, Behbud Education, Generations School,  Ghulaman-e-Abbas School, Nasra School and Sultan Mohommed Shah School . The results of their work were displayed in elaborate stalls covering different aspects of water and water conservation. Children exhibited a whole range of items; paintings, drawings, models, and items made out of recycled material on Water Conservation and Water Management. A stall was also put up by Hisaar Foundation on which literature, KWP materials; brochures, water saving guidelines and partnership forms were exhibited.

A panel of four judges gave points and prizes were awarded for the best exhibits in seven categories. Judges included Ms Farzana Saleem, Ms Hamida Masood Shah, Ms Zohra Gaya and Mr Zohair Ashir. Judges went around to each stall and children explained their models and what they were trying to portray. Additionally, school children from all schools also performed on stage, read out poems and prose written by them around the water theme. Sidra Hamid from Behbud School read out a poem in Urdu titled ‘Water’, Umaima Hamad and Bilal Bin Sharik from AMI School gave a speech on ‘Water Conservation’.

Prizes were awarded to children who performed or spoke on stage. First prize Cup was also awarded for the best exhibit to Behbud School , while smaller cups in different categories were given to all the other five participating schools. Partnership certificates were distributed amongst the participating schools and all children were given World Water Day wrist bands. 

The seminar was followed by a press conference at the Karachi Press Club and was attended by Hisaar Foundation members, volunteers and members of KWP Management Group and Advisory Council. The press conference was attended by over 60 electronic and print media reporters and teams in which Ms Simi Kamal, Ms Farzana Saleem, Ms Nargis Rehman, Mr Jamil Kazmi, Mr Sarfaraz Rehman and Ms Anisa Haji spoke on the various aspects of water and the work being done by Hisaar Foundation in the water sector. 

Some of the important issues that were discussed included; climate change, water sources, reservoirs and supply, wastewater, water conservation and water saving measures.