Attending the Primary School’s Water Festival at Bukit View Primary School organized by PUB and Waterways Watch Society gave me a sense of nostalgia at the sight of the school hall and the little primary school children in their school uniforms.

Of course my primary school had never held a water festival, this being the first of its kind. I remember falling asleep or chatting with my friends every time my school held any kind of “educational” event with a long talk.

But this wasn’t the case with the primary school students I saw at the event. It was extremely heartening to witness the enthusiastic response from them as the eager cries and chorus of, “me, me, me!” echoed through the hall, accompanied with fervent hand waving when questions were thrown to the audience. However it was not only the audience of 11-year-olds that went home enlightened that day.

Me, me, me!: Students at Bukit View vying to answer questions

I am proud to say that this event has been a wake up-call about the value of water and the importance of conserving it. For instance, I didn’t know that to produce items such as computer chips required the use of so much water. Everything that we use and consume today requires water to produce, and not just any form of water, but fresh water.

So here I am, using my laptop to type this entry – a laptop that probably required many liters of water to produce, while people in our neighboring countries such as Malaysia and India do not have access to basic sanitation because of water shortages. SIWW has not just taught me the importance of turning off a running tap, but also shown me how fortunate I am to own items other people would consider as luxuries.

Think before you let anything go to waste, it probably required a lot of water to produce – water people out there need, people who suffer everyday because they don’t have enough.

Posted by Evelyn Quah, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic