…as they learn about conservation
GUYANA Water Incorporated (GWI) on Wednesday hosted a special August Water Education Programme and tour for a group of 31 children at its Eccles Water Treatment Plant. There the children were given a guided tour by Ronald Dey, Plant Operator, who enlightened the group on water conservation and how water is sourced and produced for consumption.
GWI Public relations Officer, Timothy Austin, said that the programme forms a part of the company’s National School Education Programme on water conservation, “H2O Kids ‘N’ Action”.
“During the hot July-August months, we experience a significant increase in water use by our customers,” says Austin.
“It is crucial that our customers are made aware that during this peak consumption period, water should be used for beneficial purposes.”
Austin explained that the “H2O Kidz Programme” targets children 7 to 9 years, since they are more receptive.  “The programme has been a tremendous success for the company and we continue to receive positive feedback from schools and parent teacher associations,” he said.
The summer programme continues this success and GWI’s aim is to encourage participants to propagate the message of conservation, especially during this period.
He further highlighted that GWI continues to note significant wastage by its customers, and will step up its current school and public education programmes to highlight how wastage can affect the operations of the company and contribute to the global water crisis.
“Currently, millions of families are suffering from starvation in East Africa, due to drought,” stated Austin, “Guyanese need to do their part and conserve on the resources available to us. Continuous wastage by our customers can have long term effects on our ground and surface supplies of water”.
He highlighted that the summer programme aimed at educating participants on the water purification process utilised by GWI and the enormous amount of energy utilised for distribution. Participants were also engaged in interactive activities which highlighted effective water conservation methods and their role in combating the global water crisis.
GWI’s “H2O Kidz ‘N’ Action” School Programme will resume as schools open their doors again in September.  Youth clubs and associations interested in participating in the programme can contact the company via the e-mail address pro@gwi.gy or on Facebook (key word: Every Drop Counts).
At the culmination of the tour yesterday Troy Blennman, who spoke on behalf of the group, said that the event was educational and fun, as they were given a chance to win prizes having answered several questions on water conservation and the water production process.