This festive season, WaterAid is inviting shoppers to consider its Shop for Life collection of ethical Christmas e-gifts, which will help bring clean water and decent toilets to communities around the world. With match funding from the UK Government this winter, every gift in the Shop for Life range will make double the difference.
As an alternative to a typical Christmas present this year, you can get a personalised WaterAid e-gift or greeting card that could transform the lives of many in return. For £24 – the price of a pair of slippers – you can provide three families with a handwashing station, giving the gift of improved hygiene and disease prevention.
For £60, instead of a new bag or wallet, you can buy a community water tank holding 500 litres of water, providing gallons of help for generations to come. This one water tank could help improve the health of an entire community and keep children in school, allowing them to prioritise their education rather than spending hours each day collecting water.
Around 771 million people are denied access to clean water – that’s one in ten of the world’s population. Women and girls are responsible for collecting water in 4 out of 5 households, affecting their education and livelihoods, and often holding them back from reaching their potential.
A third of schools have no decent toilet, meaning many girls miss school while on their period. Amongst the collection of e-gifts, there is an opportunity to pay for a school toilet to be emptied. For £36 – the cost of a Christmas jumper – you can enable girls to focus on their education, rather than worry about their next toilet break.
The Shop for Life range this year will benefit the Thirst for Knowledge winter appeal, where WaterAid will help bring clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to communities in Nepal and around the world, transforming tens of thousands of lives. The UK government will match public donations made between 16 November 2021 and 15 February 2022 up to £2 million, helping bring these vital facilities to 28,000 people and 30 schools in the Bardiya district of Nepal.
Jennie York, Director of Communications and Fundraising at WaterAid said:
“This Christmas season, we are inviting people to give the gift of water and sanitation, helping families build a better future for generations to come.
“In Nepal, more than one in three adolescent girls leave school after primary education. Providing vital facilities like clean water and decent toilets in homes and schools will help prevent women and girls from being left behind. And with the UK Government matching public donations to our Thirst for Knowledge appeal, every gift will make double the difference.”
This Christmas, provide the most valuable gift there is of clean water. Visit our website to see the full collection of e-gifts https://shop.wateraid.org/collections/charity-christmas-gifts