Every morning, Kiwi kids fill their water bottles from the tap. Across the Pacific, children skip class just to find water – water that may still make them sick.
The Pacific Learning Gap Appeal, launched by ChildFund New Zealand, is changing that by providing safe drinking water to schools and communities in places like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, where children can be forced to choose between education and survival.
“For too many children, school isn’t an option. Water comes first,” says Sharon Inone, founder and CEO of Greenergy Pacific. Inone, from Temotu province in the Solomon Islands, sees the crisis firsthand.
“I know because I grew up looking for water every day. You spend hours searching instead of learning. It shouldn’t be like this.”
Nearly half of the Pacific population lacks access to safe drinking water, one of the worst rates in the world, according to the Pacific Community (SPC). The consequences? Deadly. One in five children who die before their 14th birthday are victims of unsafe water and sanitation.
“One day, my 6-year-old niece was in school,” Inone recounts. “The next, she was gone. Dysentery took her life before anyone could help. My son, her best friend, still thinks she’s coming back to finish their drawing. This is not just a crisis. It is about the right to live.”
Without clean water, preventable diseases like dysentery and severe diarrhoea leave children too sick to attend class. Others go to school so weak they can’t focus. The search for water steals time, energy, and a child’s future.
“This isn’t just today’s problem. My grandparents struggled. My parents struggled. And now, children in my own community are still walking instead of going to school,” says Inone.
In some communities, the only drinking water comes from pools dug in the sand. “When the tide is high, they wait. When it’s low, they scoop up what they can – water from the same spot used as a toilet and rubbish dump. The alternative? Going without.”
For women and children, the burden is particularly heavy. The task of collecting water often falls on them, taking hours that could be spent in school or earning an income.
“When clean water is available, I see more students in school. Mothers have time to focus on their families instead of trekking for water,” says Inone.
“Even discrimination fades. Some communities are labelled ‘the dirty ones’ simply because they lack access to clean water. Water restores dignity as much as it restores health. When you provide water, you’re not just helping one child. You’re helping a mother who now has time to work. You’re helping a village that can focus on building its future instead of just surviving.”
The impact stretches beyond school gates. Even hospitals struggle. Inone knows that firsthand; she is currently recovering from double pneumonia. “Even in hospital, getting safe water can be a challenge,” she says. And that’s not all. As the only member of her wider family privileged enough to own a car, when she was in hospital, she was unable to help transport them to find fresh water.
ChildFund New Zealand’s Pacific Learning Gap Appeal is changing this. The goal? Raise $60,000 to fund water projects that will give children back their education, their health, and their future.
Their work extends beyond the Pacific, supporting children in conflict zones and regions facing extreme poverty, climate change, and crisis.
“ChildFund doesn’t just assume what communities need,” says Inone, whose organisation has partnered with the charity. “They live with us, they listen, and they work alongside us to make a real difference. Every dollar raised will go straight to the communities that need it most.”
Inone urges Kiwis to act now, saying a single donation doesn’t just give water – it gives hope. It tells these children that someone, somewhere, cares enough to give them a future. “One dollar donated doesn’t just help one child or even one family; it helps an entire community. You’re not just giving for today, you’re investing in the future of our region.”
“Clean water changes everything.”
In 2025, no child should be missing school because of unsafe drinking water. No child should die from something as basic as a lack of clean water.
People can help bring safe drinking water to the Pacific by donating now at childfund.org.nz.