Talent's story

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Profile Name: Talent Age: 8 years old Where I live: A village in Gokwe, Zimbabwe

Family: I live with my mum and dad, and baby sister

Zimbabwe

Talent lives in Zimbabwe, a beautiful country in Africa.

Getting clean water is a big problem in some parts of Zimbabwe, especially in her local school.

Talent gets up early in the morning to go to the river, fills her bottle and carries it all the way to school.

I go to the river three times a day to get water. If I didn’t have to go to the river I could play with my friends.

When she collects the water, Talent and her mother have to dig a hole in the dry river bed to get to the water below.

Talent gets sick at least once a year with stomach problems and has time off school.

My mum usually gives me water to carry to school. My teacher told us to bring water.

I wish I had water at my school because sometimes I get thirsty and there is nothing to drink. It is hard to concentrate when I am thirsty.

Talent’s mother Ketai says:

It’s not good that my daughter has to worry about water, it’s not right. She should be concentrating on her school work instead.

It would be better if we had a water pump in our house so we didn't have problems fetching water from the river, because the tins are heavy on our heads and it hurts so much.

Things to think about...

• Why does Talent have to bring water to school?

• Why does Talent and her mother have to dig a hole in the ground to get to the water?

• Why do you think Talent gets sick with stomach problems?

• What difference to Talent’s life would a water pump in her own home make?

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Name of person giving Date www.cafod.org.uk

Photos: Simon Rawles Illustrations: Per JosĂŠ Karlen

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