MIYA Bahamas Celebrates ‘World Water Day’ with St. Anne’s Primary School

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Sharing the importance of water conservation and the significance it plays in everyone’s life, MIYA Bahamas executives and employees made a special visit to St. Anne’s Primary School on Thursday, March 21 in celebration of World Water Day 2024. 

World Water Day is recognized by the United Nations as a part of the global ‘Water for Peace’ campaign, designed to encourage individuals, companies and governments to cooperate on the issues surrounding water and pave the way for a more harmonious society. 

The school visits are an effort to reach the new generation, according to MIYA Bahamas Leak Detection Manager Rohan Thomas who said it was great getting feedback from the students as well, which highlighted their awareness of water issues around the globe. 

“I really enjoyed the interaction and the opportunity to help spread awareness with the students,” Thomas said. “It’s always good when they play their part, through simple things at home and school, as we continue to do ours.”

The elementary school students were ecstatic as they engaged in fun activities that taught them about conserving water through stopping leaks, as well as how important it is for everyone around the world to have access to clean, healthy water, just as they do. The MIYA team handed out water conservation flyers and also had a quiz session on the information provided, handing out reusable water bottles to those who answered correctly. 

This is the second year MIYA Bahamas has celebrated World Water Day by taking to local schools across New Providence. 

MIYA Bahamas Operation & Maintenance Expert Ramsey Etienne led the presentation for the students and described it as a fulfilling experience. 

“Getting the feedback from the children and allowing them to ask questions about the water issues that they have in their own environment is always interesting and a good way to spark interest,” Etienne explained. “Presentations and conversations with students like these are important as it allows them to be more aware of water loss and how they can be more involved in repair. It creates a space for everyone to get together in saving water.”

St. Anne’s Primary Vice-Principal Antja Humes described the presentation as lively, entertaining and informative for the students who she described as very inquisitive. 

“We are an eco-school, as there are several of them scattered throughout The Bahamas,” Humes said. “We are an eco-school because we care about the environment and we put measures in place that promote recycling, energy conservation and water conservation so that we can do our part in protecting the environment. Our school has been around since the 1950s, so we’re happy that we know we can call MIYA Bahamas to assist with finding and detecting leaks.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in 2022, found that roughly half of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least a portion of the year. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water. 

The UN’s key messages for World Water Day 2024 include: 

• Water as an avenue for prosperity and peace through nations placing water cooperation at the heart of plans amid climate change, migration and political unrest. 
• Water as a method for peace through balancing everyone’s water needs amid rising scarcity or pollution of water.
• Water as a way out of crisis, fostering harmony between communities and countries from UN conventions at the international level, to actions at the local level. 

An assessment of water systems across New Providence conducted by MIYA in 2012 uncovered a loss of up to 6.87 million gallons of non-revenue water daily. An $83 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan secured a partnership between WSC and MIYA Bahamas with the aim of improving efficiency and quality of service provision of potable water the address critical sewage needs across the island. 

Since signing in 2012, the partnership between WSC and MIYA Bahamas has seen a significant reduction in the amount of non-revenue water-loss, improved water pressure & service and significantly improved water quality.