Environmental Sustainability/Water

Everything but the Kitchen Sink: A Brief Simulation

Photo: WaterAid/Caroline Penn

(10 minutes)

Here is a quick demonstration of what life is like for the 1.2 billion people who lack access to clean water.

1. Fill a clear plastic container – full with water. For a smaller group, you can use a kitchen sink.

2. Go outside and with a broom and dustpan sweep up everything in the nearest gutter for a distance of say three yards (dirt, garbage, everything). You may wish to do this in advance of the activity to save time.

3. Mix what you’ve swept into the clear water and stir thoroughly.

4. Ask your group who would like to taste the water?

5. Now, imagine surviving on this water for a day, along with the rest of your family. Imagine washing yourself with it, cooking with it, drinking it. What would happen to you, to your family?

6. This is the reality of life for one of every six people in the world – every day.

(Adapted from “A Recipe for Disaster: The Kitchen Sink Experiment” in Walk for Water, used with permission courtesy of Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Grand Rapids, MI.)

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