James and Coco Paterson are preparing to source their own drinking water, in an effort to raise awareness about the lack of access to clean water in vulnerable nations.
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On Sunday, Kangaroo Valley residents James, 12, and Coco, 7, will walk about 1.5km from their house to Kangaroo River, where they will fill their buckets with water, walk it home, then boil, cool and drink it.
“We didn’t just want to raise money for clean water projects, we wanted to raise awareness about what people have to do to get water in some places,” he said.
“If you don’t go and get it yourself, you don’t have it.”
So far, the pair have raised $1160 of their $2000 goal, they’ve also gained a few supporters, with about six other children from the valley joining Coco and James on their walk.
“They are going to come with us and bring their buckets too,” James said.
The money raised will go to charity Water Works, which partners with schools, churches, organisations and individuals, to raise awareness about the need for water by setting water focused challenges and events to raise money for vital water projects in vulnerable communities.
James raised money for the cause last year, after becoming aware of the clean water crisis in Pakistan.
“A lady visited our church and told us about the Brick Kilns in Pakistan and how there wasn’t any access to clean water,” he said.
So James decided to donate $100 of his own money, which his mum Cecily matched, to the Water Works Brick Kilns project.
The Brick Kilns Water Project was a lifesaving initiative that focused on providing safe water to the bonded slave labourers working in Pakistan’s brick kiln factories.
Instead of just raising money this year, James and Coco thought it would be better to source their own water.
“This way we can actually raise some awareness about how hard it is to go and get your own water,” he said.
“And lots of other people have to walk much further than us, I can’t imagine doing it everyday.”
To donate to James and Coco, visit https://waterworks.org.au/james-and-coco-paterson.