A charity backed by Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has staged a colourful tribute to the 800 children whose lives are lost across the globe every day due to dirty water and poor sanitation.
Eight hundred buckets were placed alongside the River Thames to raise awareness of the one in nine kids around the world who don’t have clean water.
Each empty bucket in the display would hold almost enough safe drinking water to last a child an entire week.
The installation was located in Potters Fields Park in Southwark and was created by WaterAid as part of its Untapped appeal.
Nadiya Hussain said: “Every parent wants the best for their children, and to see them grow up healthy and able to reach their full potential.
“It’s devastating to know that one in nine children across the world are being held back because they have no clean water to drink, leading to sickness and lost school days that can have a lasting impact on their lives.
“Through my trips to Bangladesh, I’ve seen how difficult life without clean water is, and know the difference such a simple thing can make.
“And it’s so easy for us to help. WaterAid’s Untapped campaign is a great example of how we can help transform lives by getting clean water and decent toilets to children across the world.”
Research commissioned by WaterAid polled 2,000 UK adults to find out their attitudes towards basic resources – specifically during Christmas.
Seventy per cent said clean water is the thing they’d struggle to live without most.
Having a decent toilet came a close second – ahead of owning a TV, having an oven to cook the turkey in and internet access, along with having a car and a mobile phone.
The survey also found we will spend an average of £95 on gifts for our partners over the festive period.
And more than a quarter will spend in excess of £150.
However, 55 per cent of those polled will donate to charity over Christmas.
Former S Club 7 singer, Rachel Stevens is also backing the appeal which is calling on the British public to donate £2 a month.
Rachel Stevens said: “Through my work with WaterAid, I’ve seen first-hand the impact having no clean water or toilets has on families, especially children.
“Having clean water near to home helps keep children healthy and in school, an education improves their future prospects and gives them the chances all children deserve.
“It costs surprisingly little to make a difference – just £24 can get clean water to one child for life; and with the UK Government’s support for the Untapped campaign, all donations to WaterAid will go even further this winter.”
Marcus Missen, Director of Fundraising and Communications at WaterAid, added: “Every day, millions of children miss out on school and have no time to play with friends because they have to collect water for their families.
“Often, the water is so dirty it can kill them. On average a child dies every two minutes due to poor water and sanitation, and diarrhoea is the second biggest killer of children under the age of five.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way, and a small donation could help make all the difference.
“Adding a gift of just £2 a month to your Christmas lists this year can help transform a child’s life with access to clean water.”
Visitors will be able to see the installation at Potters Fields, London until 8pm today, Tuesday 5 December.
Members of the public can ‘buy a bucket’ to give the gift of water and save a child’s life this Christmas.
To buy a bucket, members of the public can text BUCKET to 70372 to donate £2 a month – all donations received before the 31 January 2018 will be matched by the UK Government.
If a direct debit is set up, donations will be matched by the UK Government for three months.
Additional donations can be made via the WaterAid website www.wateraid.org
