COMMUNITY EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH POSTERS ON THEIR WASH CONCERNS IN AN EXHIBITION ON WORLD WATER WEEK 2020
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar:In order to raise awareness and elicit commitment on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues during the World Water Week, the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR)organised a virtual exhibition comprising paintings, posters and messages by children, adolescents and other community members from poor and marginalised communities. This follows a series of events, including webinars and question and answer sessions involving experts and communities, which seek to go in-depth into the WASH-related issues of underprivileged communities.CFAR is observing the World Water Week to focus on the everyday challenges that most-at-risk communities living in the informal settlements of Bhubaneswar and Jaipur face, more so in the context of both climate change and the pandemic.
The virtual exhibition -We for Water – Jal Se Jan Tak: Value Water for Sustainable Development brings the creative expressions of community artists and communicators across nine diverse themes, in form of posters, wall painting, rangoli, and slogans.
CFAR’s strategy around WASH
The World Water Weekhas been organized every year by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). For the past 30 years, it has drawn the attention of the global community on key issues around WASH. CFARhas for more than two decades worked with poor and marginalised communities in urban India, particularly big cities where they live in insanitary and cramped conditions. CFAR’s strategy has been tap the latent energy of communities in representing themselves and solving their own problems through engagement with the government service-providers, while changing their behaviours and adopting practiceswhich are conducive to good health, hygiene and improved livelihoods. CFAR has used the opportunity of the World Water Week 2020 to bring WASH issues to the forefront by creating platforms in which the government, experts, and communities have a discussion on problems and resolutions. The ongoing week has been transformed into a virtual event this year for four days from August 24-27, 2020. The key objective of this global meetis to enable the development of an understanding of water – its value, function, and connection to other topical issues in order to motivate decision- and policymakers to initiate WATER-WISE actions.
World Water Week 2020 theme, SDG Goals 6 and 13
The theme of week 2020 is Water and Climate Change: Accelerating Action. This year the initiative focuses on developing the capacities of journalists and communicators to enable them to develop knowledge and diverse perspectives to inform their audience, engage people on the importance of water, and hold decision-makers accountable to the Sustainable Development Goals.
SDG Goal 6 urges countries to ensure universal access of all citizens to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation while SDG Goal 13 urges countries to take steps to combat the impact of climate change on human beings and develop plans to chart a safer and more sustainable future, including post-pandemic recovery plans.
Chief Guest- Mr. Suvendu Kumar Sahoo, Deputy Commissioner, Sanitation, said that on this WW Week Day on behalf Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation like to convey greetings and thanks to CFAR Team for lay outing the program. The securing of water message imparting in form of picture exhibition is very good, I heartily welcome and congratulation to CFAR. Herewith “I inaugurate the event very solemnly”.
Mr. Basant Kumar Mishra, City Health Officer, said that Government trying to provide safe water to all slum people and CFAR has taken the very good initiative to bring awareness of securing water. It is known that water and health closely related each other. CFAR has rolled out the project in Bhubaneswar and Jaipur for this I am very much thankful and congratulation.
Ms. Kasturi Pradhan, Pichupadia said on this WW Week Day, I have drawn a picture on climate change, due to rain, flood and natural calamity climate has been changing and water sources are being contaminated. So how to preserve the rain water and also treated for use. To keep the pollution, we need to plant the tree and save the Earth.
Ms. Minakhi Samanta Ray, Dumduma Pana, said I had drawn the picture on how to preserve the rain water, we know water preservation but we do not know how to collect rain water and reuse it.
