World Water Day Youth Rally at Summit K-12

More than 400 students filled the auditorium at Seattle’s Summit K-12 School on Wednesday in honor of the United Nations designated World Water Day. The rally was led by Summit senior Aaron Nilson as part of his senior project.

“You all know that without water you can’t live. It’s a known fact, everything living needs water. Everyday, we in America, have water bottles with us. We always have clean drinking water coming out of our faucets. We never think about not being able to get water. But all over the world, literally, people in developing nations each day are affected more than we can fathom” said Aaron.

In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated March 22 as World Water Day to draw international attention to the critical lack of clean, safe drinking water worldwide. Aaron, in selecting the topic for his senior project, wanted to do a project that “made a difference.” He was familiar with the work of Water 1st and approached Water 1st to partner with him for his senior project. “World Water Day seemed like the perfect day to culminate my year-long research project – an opportunity to talk to other students about this crisis on the same day that other water events are being held around the world.”

During his opening remarks at the rally, Aaron said, “We’re at home desperate to find out who won the UW versus UConn game or whether or not Bucky will get kicked off American Idol, but without water, people’s lives are completely different from ours in so many ways. Without water, people’s lives are always interrupted. Without water, people are subject to living under severe poverty. Without water, people are killed.”

Students at the rally also watched a film by Water 1st depicting the water crisis in countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Honduras. Then several student volunteers came on stage and struggled to lift a 5-gallon container of water weighing about 40 lbs over their heads. Aaron said, “Now imagine you are a woman only 5 feet tall and you weigh only 80 pounds and you have to carry this water for 3 hours. That’s what life is like for 1 billion people in the world every day.”

“The fact that 5 million people – mainly children – die every year from totally preventable, water-related illnesses is the greatest tragedy of our time,” said Water 1st Executive Director, Marla Smith. “Today, I hope you walk away knowing that this simple glass of water I’m holding is a luxury for over 1 billion people on Earth. The next time you drink water, take a shower, flush a toilet, brush your teeth, or any of the many things you need to do with water – please remember how fortunate you are to live in a country where you have all the safe water you need.”