Helping-Hand Appeal: Clean Water

Introduction

The focus of the 2023 Helping-Hand Appeal is Clean Water – working alongside communities to improve access to clean water and adequate sanitation. More than 1.5 billion people around the world do not have access to clean water, and a lack of water impacts people’s health and limits their opportunities.

Water is more than a drink …

It is children thriving. It is continued education. It is time to build your business. It is the potential for equal opportunities. It is economic independence.

Water is life!

This Jump IN! session explores the value of water to us and how we can raise money to support this year’s Helping-Hand Appeal.

Additional material and resources are available at:

https://www.salvationist.org.uk/resources/key-dates/helping-hand-appeal-2023

Bible Story

Exodus 17:1-7 Water from a Rock

Moses was the leader of God’s people but they weren’t very happy because they had no water to drink! They couldn’t find any wells, rivers, pools or streams and everyone was very thirsty.

This meant they were all very grumpy (can you pull a grumpy face?) and they got angry with Moses and demanded that he found them water to drink (can you look angry and shout with me, ‘We want water to drink!’?).

So Moses prayed to God, (get them to put their hands together to pray), ‘Please help me, God. The people are angry with me because they are thirsty and I don’t know what to do.’

God gave Moses a special message and told him to walk in front of the people with a few other leaders and to go to the bottom of the mountain. He told Moses to take a big stick with him and that when they reached the mountain God would show Moses a big rock to hit with his stick.

Moses did what God told him to, and when he hit the rock with his stick something wonderful happened. Water began to run out from the rock. Lots of clean, clear water, enough for everyone to have a drink. The people were amazed, and Moses said thank you to God for giving the people the water they needed. (Get the children to say, ‘Thank you, God, for water to drink.’) 

Teaching Notes:

Talk with the children about all the different ways we use water, eg drinking, washing, swimming etc.

Hold up two glasses of water – one clean and one dirty. Ask the children if the dirty water is OK to drink? Explain to them that it is not usually safe for us to drink water that looks like this, but in some countries around the world (eg Malawi) this is how the water looks. Children and adults have to drink dirty water because there isn’t anything else.

Talk about how The Salvation Army is working to help provide people with clean, safe drinking water. Explain that you are going to do a special project together to help raise money so children in other countries can drink clean water like we do.

Song suggestions

1.Theme song

(Tune: ‘If you’re happy and you know it’)

There’s water in my cup, in my cup!

There’s water in my cup, in my cup!

There’s water in my cup – let’s drink it all right up,

There’s water in my cup, in my cup!

There’s water for a wash, for a wash!

There’s water for a wash, for a wash!

There’s water for a wash – when I play, it makes a splosh,

There’s water for a wash, for a wash!

There’s water everywhere, everywhere!

There’s water everywhere, everywhere!

There’s water everywhere – enough for us to share,

There’s water everywhere, everywhere!

2. ‘Row, row, row your boat’

3. ‘Incy, wincy spider’

4. ‘It’s raining, it’s pouring’

Any other nursery rhymes with a water theme.

Craft ideas and other activities

Water play

This is an ideal outdoor activity, but if this option is unavailable you may wish to cover the floor with a protective covering.

Fill a water play tray or baby bath with water and provide various plastic jugs, cups or toys for children to play with.

Once you have finished playing with the water, try to repurpose it. For example, use the water to feed the plants.

Water craft

Cut out large raindrop shapes and use paint, tissue paper etc to colour them blue.

For other ideas see: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/FamilyMinistriesUKIT/water-themed-crafts/

Prayer

Action prayer

God gives us water to drink.

Mime drinking from a cup

God gives us water to wash.

Mime washing your face

God gives us water to go swimming.

Mime swimming

God gives us water, hooray!

Put your arms in the air and shout ‘Hooray!’

Amen.

Dear Father God,

Thank you for our wonderful world. Thank you for creating water. We think water is great because we can play with it in the bath, it helps plants to grow and because it is wonderful for us to drink and gives us life. Help us to do all we can to make sure everyone around the world has clean, safe water to enjoy just like we do. Amen.

Fundraising ideas

Organise a fundraising activity that the group can do to raise money for the Helping-Hand Appeal:

• Sponsored toddler or nursery rhyme sing, coffee morning, cake or ice-cream sale.
• Fill an empty baby food jar with coins.

Give each child a small bottle of water and ask families to collect money in the bottle once the water is drunk. Remind them to take care when cutting out a coin slot into the bottle.

• SPEND A PENNY, GIVE A POUND:

Over the course of a session (or over a month or longer if you choose) ask families to donate £1 to use the loo! Use the ‘Toilet Tally’ resource available at: https://www.salvationist.org.uk/resources/key-dates/helping-hand-appeal-2023

This will help the group keep count of the money being raised.

Printed materials including a poster, flyer and money box wrap (that could be put round a bottle of water) are available here: https://www.salvationist.org.uk/resources/key-dates/helping-hand-appeal-2023