Bhubaneswar, Nov. 16: Students of Class III shared their ideas about conserving water at a storytelling session organised at Bakul Children’s Library here today. The session was organised on the sidelines of the launch of “Project India” by a Canada-based NGO, One Drop.

Claudia Barilla, a former supermodel from Canada and board member of One Drop, read out stories to the children from a book titled One Well – The story of water on Earth. All the participants were given an opportunity to put forth suggestions about water conservation and pollution.

“Tell me, how can you save water from being wasted and polluted?” Claudia asked the eight-year-old participants from Sai International School.

“We should use buckets of water instead of showers for bathing,” said Sai Prasad Mallick, a participant. “We must not throw trash into ponds and rivers,” said Shivangi, another participant.

“Without water, we have nothing – no plants and no animals. Imagine a world hard and dry without life. We must not misuse precious water,” said Anushka, summing up her friends’ views. At the end of the session, Claudia signed two copies of the storybook and gifted it to the children and the library.

One Drop, which specialises in social arts and popular education approach to community mobilisation, has collaborated with voluntary organisations such as Bakul Foundation, Gram Vikas and Natya Chetana (a theatre group) to improve access to safe water and raise people’s awareness relating to water issues.

To start with, the project aims at changing water access in 100 villages of Ganjam district, especially tribal pockets, impacting 55,000 lives. “Odisha is one of the poorest states in India and has the worst figures when it comes to sanitation. And sanitation is connected to water access,” said Lili Anna Peresa, executive director of One Drop.

“Children are the water keepers, water ambassadors and water heroes. We are involving them in the project so that they can motivate their family members, peers and the community at large to conserve water and save it from pollution,” she added.

Exploiting local culture and art forms would generate awareness. Natya Chetana would conduct mobile theatre shows on bicycles and street plays in semi-urban regions and workshops would be organised by Bakul volunteers.