Godawari WASH project of Nepal organises a poetry competition to celebrate World Water Day
How do you combine the celebration of World Water Day (20th March) and World Poetry Day (22nd March) into one event?
The Godawari WASH project of Nepal, together with the national poets in Godawari Municipality, held an inter-school poetry competition under the theme “Accelerated Change: Role of Students to Conserve Water Resources.” Participated by 25 students from 25 different schools, the event aimed at disseminating messages on water resource conservation to the younger generation in the hope that they could share it with their families and local communities. Several well-known local poets, including Basistha Adhikari, Social Advisor of Godawari municipality, Shiva Prasad Ghimire, and Gopal Sanjel, joined the evaluation committees. The main scoring criteria was a message about the river in the Godawari municipality, which was polluted, and action must be taken to protect the local water resources.
The honorable guest, the national poet, writer, and former Radio Nepal director, Dr. Nab Raj Lamsal, also joined the celebration. He also spoke to students and teachers about the importance of writing poems and how poems can change people’s perceptions. Poetry serves as the foundation for Nepali writing and is one of the most significant literary genres in Nepali culture. Many poets in Nepal contributed to the political and cultural ideological shifts of their days. Today, poems still continue to impact modern literature and influence people’s views on social concerns by raising awareness, spreading messages, and empowering people.
For the finals, six female students were selected as winners and awarded scholarships and certificates for encouragement. Below is a poem from Rita Neupane, the first-place winner. Her poetry describes the role of students in the conservation of water resources. The poem is originally written in Nepali.
I am dedicated student; I conserve my environment.
I will decorate my country by keeping rivers and streams clean.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
Let’s not litter, and let’s, not others litter as well.
Let’s aware about the preservation of water resources.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
Don’t think about your sake, but the interest of our nation.
Let’s protect the water resources and the lives of all.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
Let’s plant trees and protect the plants.
Let’s initiate it by planting them with our own hands.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
Our green forests are our commonwealth.
Has there been water sources, we exit, and we flourish.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
One day-one plant, another day-one more.
Protecting the water resources is my responsibility.
Water is life, and life is water.
There is water, and so am I, and the one who preserves is also me.
Godawari VAKIN WaterAid Partnership for Strengthen Institutional WASH Capacity Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by GWOPA/UN-Habitat, aims to improve local health and environmental and economic conditions in Godawari Municipality through quality, inclusive, and sustainable WASH services.
The event was designed with the support of Elin Backman- Communication focal from VAKIN for Godawari Prabalya WASH Project, Matthias Grimme- Manager from VAKIN and Focal for GWOPA, and conducted by Anand Gautam and Anita Bohara Godawari Prabalya WASH focal for WaterAid and Godawari Municipality.
