Teaching Kids About Water Issues

This Sunday, March 22, is World Water Day, an international observance that grew out of the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The occasion has since spawned World Water Week, which this year is from March 22 to 28.

Tomorrow (Mar. 20), Dream Village, a website that educates kids about social, economic, and environmental issues, is releasing Saved by the Well. Dream Village was formed last fall after its founders won a $10,000 grant to launch a series of socially responsible children's books.

Saved by the Well, their debut release, told from a child's perspective with color illustrations, is the story of a town in Mozambique that benefits from the PlayPump water system, a merry-go-round water pump powered by children's play. The PlayPump was developed by Roundabout Outdoor of South Africa.

Dream Village plans to donate at least 50 percent of its profits to charitable causes based on readers' votes. The goal is to help children realize at an early age that they have the power to make a difference.

The group is also kicking off its "Dream Maker, World Changer Contest" tomorrow; the prize is a full scholarship to Beam Camp, where kids learn creative problem-solving through collaboration, hands-on projects, and the arts.

--Tom Valtin