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Good Neighbours Canada is proud to continue promoting global citizenship to children across Ontario through another year of education advocacy.
Throughout April and May, our team participated in three wonderful community events:
The Children’s Water Festivals are an annual series of events that encourage elementary school students to learn about the importance of water conservation, protection, awareness, respect, science technology, history and health. Good Neighbours Canada was excited to take on the opportunity to educate children about the access to water in other parts of the world.
This year, our team shared the story of Echik, a young girl in Indonesia, who has to carry large buckets of water, walking several kilometers away from her home every morning. In some parts of the world, like Indonesia, children have to travel up to four hours a day to the nearest water source. These water sources are often contaminated and leave communities at risk of preventable waterborne illnesses.
We kicked off our Children’s Water Festival season at Brock University, where our team faced some cold and rainy late-April weather to connect with hundreds of students. Thanks to a well-organized structure of 15-minute tent rotations, we welcomed 195 children on the first day and another 201 on the second. The students dove straight into the water-carrying activity using two large buckets, to give them a sense of the challenges Echik faces daily. We were incredibly grateful for the support of local high school volunteers who kept the energy high. Their teacher even shared that supporting our tent was all the volunteers were talking about during lunch!
During the Peel event, we welcomed 290 students over two days. Children were highly engaged in our water carrying activity, gaining a physical glimpse into the challenges that Echik has to go through. Feedback from guardians was incredibly supportive, with parents expressing deep appreciation for how the hands-on exercise helped Canadian children understand global water realities.
At the Hamilton festival, schools rotated through activities every 15 minutes, allowing our team to maintain strong attendance and share Echik’s story with an amazing 676 students across three days. On the final day, a young student quietly came up to our team lead after the presentation just to say thank you for teaching her about water, serving as a heartwarming reminder of the positive impact these activities have on young minds.
Students were then encouraged to write or draw a letter of hope for Echik. Feedback from students, parents, teachers, and volunteers remained exceptionally positive, highlighting the value of these interactive educational experiences.
We thank our team members Sasiaro Nyam, Ponnezhil Bharath, and Matthew Neill for engaging the students with educational activities, delivering brilliant storytelling, and encouraging them to share their voice in meaningful discussion. We are grateful to the organizers for allowing us to join another year of advocacy education and look forward to continuing partnerships!
Echik’s story was the focus of our 2025 Hope Letter Campaign, a global awareness initiative that aims to empower youth in Canada to become future global leaders, acting with responsibility, empathy and universal values of human rights. Keep an eye on our pages for information on our upcoming 2026 Hope Letter Campaign, running from September to November 2026!
Join our mission to bring clean water to rural communities like Echik’s. Donate here today.
