Water winners

Between October 2nd and November 29th 2009, Monasib held its second essay contest to engage with all of you and probe one of the most critical issues of our times. We received many thought provoking essays from around the world. Immediately below is the winning submission, contributed by Safiyya P and Fatimah K of Cape Town, South Africa, followed by the runner-up, Maya K, of Malaysia. The winners will be receiving a Monasib Soccer Sisters tracksuit and scarf cap. And the rest of us? Hopefully we all benefit due to increased understanding of the importance of water conservation. So what's the deeper connection between a clothing company and water conservation? That's one of our next submissions. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, keep asking questions and keep writing in.

Why conserve water? And what are you doing or starting to do (to conserve)?

Winning essay by: Safiyya P. and Fatimah K.Madrassh Fatimatu Zahra, Cape Town, South Africa

Water is one of the greatest gifts that Allah has given us. Water gives us energy, purifies our bodies and it is a cure for many things. Most of the things we use everyday come from the earth─ our vegetables and rice, even our spices. And all these things need water to grow. Even the paper we use every day is made from trees that require water. Because water plays such a big role, we should look after it. But there is something more. Allah has actually entrusted it to us, to mankind. Therefore it is our duty to use it wisely.

What is life without water? Not only mankind but also animals need water to survive. If we waste it and pollute it then we will be making it difficult for ourselves and them. It is so easy for us to just open a tap and have a glass of water. But have we ever thought of those people who have to walk long distances just for a bucket of water? Or those people who have no access to clean water. How can animals survive in the sea if there is no water? It is their home and they don’t have anywhere else to go.

Can we imagine a single day without water? We can’t brush our teeth, wash our faces. We can’t shower or have a cup of coffee or tea before work. We won’t be able to have a proper meal. We can’t wash our clothes or even make wudhu. That is if we didn’t have ANY water at all. If we didn’t have clean water, life would be very difficult because we would have to boil water before using it.

There are so many ways in which we can conserve the precious gift of water. We shouldn’t let the taps run unnecessarily, especially while we brush our teeth or wait for water to warm; nor should we stand too long under the shower. Furthermore, we shouldn’t let water run while we wash dishes. We should have a separate bucket in which to rinse the dishes. When watering our plants, we should do so in the early morning or late at night, but not when the sun is at its peak because the water will evaporate quickly. Lastly, we should ensure that all leaks are repaired.

Although water is such a precious gift, surely we haven’t yet realised its true value; if we did, we wouldn’t be wasting it. Like they say, we only realise the true value of something when it is taken away. Hopefully we are of those who realise how fortunate we are to have this great bounty.


Runner-up: by Maya K. Malaysia

I have always been fascinated by the natural world. I even have a nickname, ‘Maya Ijau’, which means green-Maya. The excitement of learning and experimenting with new things always gives me a jolt and I enjoy it. With respect to the environment, my family and I choose to recycle. We try our best to manage our waste of the day by separating it by its type. In relation to water conservation, it made me think. Have I done anything to conserve our precious water? So I did some research just to see what can be done and found out that we were already active conservationists (although definitely room for more improvement).

I usually turn off water while washing my hair and brushing my teeth. When using the toilet, I drop the tissues in the trash instead of flushing it and save water every time. I also shorten my shower most of the time and I prefer to use the shower as bath tub requires more water. Then just now I got new tip that said I can do more by keeping a bucket in the shower to catch water as it warms up or runs. Use this water to flush toilets or water plants.
Cleaning is one of our unavoidable daily chores. When doing laundry, I usually match the water level to the size of the load and run my clothes washer only when they are full. One thing I notice is there were too cups, glasses to be washed everyday especially when all of my family members were at home. So, the next time they come I will ask everyone to designate one glass for drinking water or get themselves refillable water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash. I also hope that I will be more active to collect the water used for rinsing fruits and vegetables then reuse it to water houseplants.

Living in the tropical region, most of the time we enjoy cold drinks. The next tips I’m going to apply for cold drinks are to keep pitchers of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down to me and not the drain. During my day out and when I have ice left in my cup from a take-out restaurant, I will not throw it in the trash; instead I will dump it on a plant. This is so easy.
The next tip is very vital for the public. It is important for everybody to responsible to report any broken pipes, open hydrants and errant sprinklers to the property owner or the water provider. This will help to save water and most importantly it saves public money.

I’m sure that everybody has done something that contributes to water conservation but most of us are not aware of that. The activities will remain the same, but when we put a value to it, as for this reason it will for water conservation, we will appreciate it more and we will definitely gain self-satisfaction, that’s for sure. So the next thing I would do is to share water conservation tips with my friends, family, neighbors and all fellow bloggers out there. It is tedious work but hopefully our small daily contribution will help to save our precious water and Mother Nature.

Source: http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php