Welcome to

Welcome to THINKfast, DEVELOPMENT AND

PEACE's popular youth activity. Congratulations WHY DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE?
2011
on taking up the challenge to introduce young Created by Canada's Catholic bishops in 1967,
people to issues of global justice and DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is a lay organization
international development. This year, with two main goals: to educate Canadians
Development and Peace is conducting its about the causes of poverty and under-
campaign against the privatization of water to development in poor countries of the South,
promote access to free, safe drinking water and to mobilize Canadians to advocate for and
worldwide. support the initiatives of our partners to bring
about peace and justice – for the long term.
THINKfast brings youth together to explore the
causes of poverty and social injustice, and it People in developing nations are talented and
inspires them to learn how they can make a resourceful. They know what they need to do
difference in their community and in their to overcome the problems they face. They
world. define their needs and priorities, and are
committed to making sure their programs work.
THINKfast empowers youth to live out their faith
and make socially responsible decisions about DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE supports them by
how they live their lives while also raising funds providing the funds they need, and by working
for the work of DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE. for changes to our own country’s policies (and in
the way we live) that will promote justice and
protect the earth.
WHY A FAST?
Throughout history, leaders like Mahatma
Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Blessed HOW DOES DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE USE
Mother Teresa have fasted to raise awareness THE DONATIONS?
about issues of injustice in the world. Fasting is The THINKfast donations are part of our Share
a way to join in solidarity with those who are Lent campaign and are used to support the work
hungry, poor, or oppressed. Like Catholics, of our partners in the South and our educational
many other religions also use fasting as a work in Canada. 6%
spiritual practice. In our culture of abundance, it 71%
is good to fast and remember to be grateful for 11%
all that we have.
12%
Programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Middle East + Emergency Relief
International Solidarity Education in Canada
Administrative & Governance
Communications

2011
 table of
contents
PART ONE – PLANNING
THINKfast Planning Snap Shot ........................................................................................2
Organize and Promote ....................................................................................................3
Fundraising ....................................................................................................................5
THINKfast Activities ........................................................................................................6
Fasting ............................................................................................................................7
Sample THINKfast Schedule ............................................................................................8
After your fast..................................................................................................................9
Development and Peace Regional Animators ..............................................................10

PART TWO – ACTIVITIES

2.1 ICEBREAKERS ..........................................................................................................12
2.2 DEEPENING AWARENESS ........................................................................................17
Water Bingo…………………………….…………………. ........................................................17
Amanzi with Reality Check......................................................................................18
Water for Profit? ....................................................................................................34
Walking for Water ..................................................................................................42
Journey of Bottled Water ......................................................................................44
2.3 REFLECTION AND REST ............................................................................................49
Opening Liturgy ......................................................................................................49
Drinking Mindfully ..................................................................................................52
I thirst ....................................................................................................................55
Exploring Solidarity ................................................................................................58
Commissioning Service ..........................................................................................61
2.4 COMMITTING TO ACTION
Water for All, let justice flow ..................................................................................66
Graphic Activiyt and Multimedia ............................................................................68
Skits and Action Activities ......................................................................................68
2.5 SOLIDARITY CELEBRATION ......................................................................................70

PART THREE – TOOLKIT

THINKfast Registration Form..........................................................................................73
THINKfast Pledge Form ..................................................................................................75
Wrap Up and Paperwork ...............................................................................................77
Reporting Forms A and B ...............................................................................................79
Evaluations.....................................................................................................................82
201 1

2011 1
 g for y ou r
plannin

*
It’s your THINKfast and you can organize it any way you like! To lend a helping hand, we’ve set out
planning steps to support you in preparing for your THINKfast event. From raising awareness and
raising funds, to games and activities during your fast, and the next steps to wrap it up, this
section has all you need to make your 2011 THINKfast a success!
Remember, we can support you when you register your THINKfast event with us. Find out how in
the ‘Set a Date and Register’ section.

Planning Snap Shot

Six to eight weeks before the Fast One week before the Fast
Organize your THINKfast committee, and get Send out invites and media releases
the support from your school or parish. to the radio, TV station or local
Set a date and the location. Register your newspapers.
THINKfast.
Set your fundraising goal. During the Fast
Solicit donations for prizes. Fast for 25 hours!
Learn about social justice with the
Three to four weeks before the Fast games, activities and reflections.
Promote your THINKfast. Break the fast with a Solidarity
Sign up participants and distribute pledge Meal!
sheets.
Join us online: encourage participants to create After the Fast
their own personal online fundraising pages. Collect pledge sheets and
Fundraise, offline and online! donations, fill out tax receipt forms
and send them in to Development
Two weeks before the Fast and Peace.
Decide on the games and activities you’ll use Stay connected with Development
for your THINKfast. Plan your Solidarity Meal to and Peace.
break the fast!

2 2011
Organize Your Committee
Hold a kick-off planning meeting with your THINKfast committee members. This kit has lots of ideas
and resources, plus you will receive more upon registering your THINKfast. On the THINKfast Resource
DVD you will find videos, powerpoint presentations, additional games, campaign materials and more!
Gather your colleagues and student leaders for your THINKfast committee. Get some young leaders
involved. Consider…
• Main Leader - Overall Organizer and the contact person for Development and Peace.
• Promotion - Invites new participants and gets the word out to students and media.
• Fundraising and Admin- Responsible for collecting the donations, tax recipets and follow up
with Development and Peace.
• Get the support of your administration or volunteers in your school or parish.

Set Your Date, Location and Register Your

Set a date for your THINKfast for Lent, from February 17 to April 4, 2011. Or hold your THINKfast close
to Bottled Water Free Day on March 10, 2011, a day where students across Canada raise awareness
about the negative impacts of bottled water, and build the back-to-the-tap movement!
Consider beginning your 25-hour fast at a time which will allow the most people to participate. Some
parish youth groups start Saturday morning and finish Sunday at lunch. This gives them the chance to
share the experience with their larger congregation. If time is limited, or for young adults, you can plan
for a 12-hour fast and host your THINKfast in the evening.
Register your THINKfast with Development and Peace. To
Be a part of D and P
support you in your THINKfast, we will send you:
Makes a Difference Week and
Action campaign materials, like the WATER FOR ALL
flyers, pledge card, and tabloid magazine
hold your THINKfast during
the week of
Posters and stickers
March 10th -20th, 2011.
A multimedia RESOURCE DVD with multimedia
support materials and additional activities
2 free LIFE BEFORE PROFIT t-shirts
Additional THINKfast t-shirts are available for only $15 each!
There are a number of ways to REGISTER your THINKfast: Receive 2 FREE t-shirts
a) Fax or mail Registration form to: when you REGISTER
Fax: 416-922-0957 your THINKfast!
Mail: Development and Peace, 10 St. Mary Street,
#420, Toronto, ON M4Y 1P9
b) Online: http://youth.devp.org/THINKFAST
c) Email your Registration to Genevieve Gallant at ggallant@devp.org
Book a location for your THINKfast and plan for your Solidarity Meal by soliciting food donations and
help for the day. Invite special guests (friends, parents, media, Development and Peace members).

2011 3
Promote Your
Outreach will help you increase the number of THINKfast participants and volunteers. Free promotional
materials are available upon registering your THINKfast with Development and Peace.
• Advertise your THINKfast – With announcements, presentations, media releases, and
posters.
• Get the word out – Make announcements at a school assembly. Promote your event with
facebook, Twitter and email. Contact local media.
• Spread awareness – Educate others about the cause you are supporting!
• Show the DEVELOPMENT & PEACE video : ”After the Tsunami: Rebuilding Our Villages, Our
Lives” (on your THINKfast DVD) or campaign animation clips on our website.
• Invite a guest speaker who has been in the Global South, and your Regional Animator or
Regional Youth Rep from Development and Peace.

Sign Up Participants and Distribute Pledge Forms

Leading up to their THINKfast, participants collect pledges from neighbors, family and friends who
promise a donation of a specific amount for completing the fast. These donations are collected by
participants and sent by the Organizer to Development and Peace. The funds are used to support the
work of our partners in the South and our educational work in Canada. Donors can also make a
monthly pledge with Share Year Round.
• Set up a table at lunch time or after mass to sign up participants.
• Photocopy and distribute pledge forms to all participants.
• Provide participants with info on your online fundraising group page.
• Copies of all the forms are in the Toolkit Section.

Here are some of the promo ideas you sent us…

your great 4 Classroom visits by student organizers prior to THINKfast to
encourage participation.
4 Have a pre-THINKfast event where you can advertise the fast like a

ideas! dance party or open mic.

4 Have a THINKfast for older youth and one for younger youth if
there are a wide variety of ages.
4 Combine your high school and parish-based Gr. 8 students. For
example, “Our grade 8 numbers are small but find that it's
growing each year. The elementary students are able to bond
with the high school students and they find it helps to build the
bridge between the two and transition the following year much
easier”.
4 Create posters which you can use to advertise and hang them in
your school/parish.
4 Write an article for local newspapers/parish bulletins to promote
your THINKfast.

4 2011
Fundraising
Set a fundraising goal
It’s easier than you might think! If you are regular THINKfasters, can you double last year’s total? Each
student can set an individual fundraising goal too. Through fundraising and fasting, participants
demonstrate their solidarity and support for Development and Peace partners in the Global South.
• Brainstorm ways to reach your goal: a minimum pledge total, prizes for most donations, and
defintly use our online fundraising tools.
• Double your impact by getting local businesses or community members to match your
THINKfast goal. Matching fundraising significantly increases
momentum and participation! THINKfast happens once a year.
With Share Year Round,
• Enlist the support of your principal, pastors and teachers. you can commit to planned
monthly giving all year.
Fundraise! ONLINE
We are thrilled to once again offer Organizers and THINKfast participants the opportunity to use our
online platform to register their THINKfast event and to collect pledges online!
Go to http://youth.devp.org/THINKFAST/fundraising to start fundraising online! Starts January 1, 2010.

THINKfast 2011 Organizers

• You can easily set up your THINKfast fundraising online; the program will walk you through it.
• Invite participants to join you on your THINKfast group page.
• All participants can also create their own personalized fundraising page.
• EVERYONE can collect secure online donations from friends, family members and colleagues
online! Sponsors will receive a tax receipt within minutes of donating.
Organizers and participants will still be able to fundraise with the pledge sheets, but we really
encourage you to try out our online fundraising tools! AND - based on your feedback - participants
can also add their offline pledge donations to their online fundraising page!
WE WILL SUPPORT YOU THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS!
1-800-494-1401 or 416-922-1592 Genevieve Gallant, Youth Programs ext. 230 ggallant@devp.org
Raphael Arens, Online Outreach Officer ext. 233 rarens@devp.org

Here are some of the fundraising ideas you sent us…

your great
4 Have a fundraising goal and make a “fill your treasure box” poster as
a reminder to potential donors and encouragement to participants.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:19-21).
4 Set a goal of minimum $ raised per participant (e.g. $20).
ideas! 4 Get prizes donated for the participants who raise the most donations.
Try to think of creative, awesome prizes!
4 Set up a table at the back of the church each weekend for several
weeks to collect pledges from the congregation.
4 Collect pledges after mass when the fast ends as congratulatory
donations.

2011 5
 Activities
There are plenty of activities to help you learn about social justice Read and review the
and have fun - including our interactive survival game, AMANZI activities ahead of time to
(you might even forget you are fasting)! choose the best ones for
your particular group.
2011 ACTION Campaign – Water for Life, Let Justice Flow
Development and Peace’s new campaign was launched in response to a troubling trend in the Global
South: a rise in the sale of bottled water, which makes it increasingly difficult for the poor to have
access to this vital resource. Bottled water companies represent a growing threat to the available water
sources of rural populations in the Global South. The packaging and selling of water means that this
necessity is being transformed into a commodity that is only accessible to those who can afford it.
This year’s THINKfast activities develop an understanding of how the privatization of water threatens

*
the human right to free, clean, and safe water.

All our activities fit into five categories or types of activities that come together as a recipe
for a successful THINKfast!
ICEBREAKERS - Warm up to the issues and each other.
DEEPENING AWARENESS - Learn more about your world and social justice.
REFLECTION AND REST - Liturgies and reflective activities.
COMMITTING TO ACTION - Campaign activities and action ideas: pledge to create Bottled
Water Free Zones in your school or parish.
CELEBRATION - Break the fast with a meal to celebrate solidarity and your accomplishments.

Liturgies and Prayers

The THINKfast is a witness to our call as Christians to be light for the world and each other. The
suggested prayers and liturgy can be used throughout the THINKfast to maintain a faith context.
“Christ has no body on earth but ours, no hands but ours, no feet but ours. Ours are the feet with
which He is to go about doing good. Ours are the hands with which he is to bless people now.” - Teresa
of Avila

Mix & Match Games and Activities

The priority is to have enough time to absorb and reflect
on the experience, and to gain a better understanding of
the world and the positive difference we can all make.
Feel free to add activities from other sources (or think up
and design your own). Past year’s games and activities
are available from http://youth.devp.org/RESOURCES.
Most of all the focus should be on education and action
through HAVING FUN!
Make your thinkfast eco-friendly
• Tap into it! Use tap water in jugs or
coolers rather than bottled water
• Use beeswax candles instead of oil
based candles
• Use potted plants instead of fresh cut
flowers
• Use reusable plates, cups, cutlery, etc
• Purchase fair trade and organic and
local snacks to break the fast
• Reduce your hydro consumption

6 2011
During Your
Why a Fast?
It’s part of our tradition; it challenges us, and teaches us to be thankful. Fasting is a spiritual practice
and is a way to choose to join in solidarity with those who are hungry, poor, or oppressed and to
involve our whole bodies in prayer. In our busyness and our culture of abundance, it is great to fast and
remember to be grateful for all that we have.
What to Expect
As you fast, your body will go through different stages. It is important to pay attention to what your
body is telling you and to respond accordingly. For group leaders, it’s especially important to pay
attention to your group’s energy levels and to choose activities most appropriate to your group’s
current state (e.g. tired, hyper or hungry). Always encourage the group to drink fluids. As long as you
make sure to keep the group, and yourself, hydrated and occupied, these feelings will be a great
learning experience.
Share these guidelines with the whole group. It’s best that they know what to expect.
Feeling tired? Sit down and rest for a bit. This is Feeling hungry? This is bound to happen, but
a great time to write in your journal, have some drink some juice and the feeling will pass. This
personal reflection time or pray. Drinking juice is a great time to reflect on how lucky we are
will bring your energy level back up again. Steer not to feel this way for extended periods of
clear of popsicles and other items that contain time.
large amounts of refined sugar, they’ll only make
Feeling distracted? Near the end of the fast it’s
you feel more tired later!
common to have difficulty focusing on the task
Feeling hyper? A great time to play another at hand. Leaders take note that it’s best to
game. Be sure to drink lots of water! organize the activities that require more mental

Fasting Guidelines
• Anyone older than 11 in good health can safely go without food for 25 hours. They must
drink fluids to fast properly.
• Anyone with a cold or flu, liver or kidney problems, or a serious illness should not take part
in the full fast. If in doubt, check with a doctor. Feel free to adapt and modify your fast as
needed.
• Fasting in a limited and controlled environment such as THINKfast does not promote eating
disorders. On the contrary, it is an ideal time to discuss food security, health and positive
self-image.
CHOOSE AVOID
Water Herbal Teas Popsicles Fruit “Drinks”
100% Fruit Juice Vegetable Broth Coffee Kool-Aid or Pop
These beverages will keep you hydrated and Avoid drinks with high refined sugar content or
nourished while you fast. Water is the most caffeine. They will cause a drastic drop in blood
important, so drink lots! The more active you sugars causing you to feel tired and weak. Stick
are, the more you should drink. to real fruit juices and fresh, natural beverages.

2011 7
 Schedule
Peruse, use or modify the following schedule for your THINKfast so that it best fits the needs and
interests of your group.

TIME ACTIVITY
DAY 1
3:30-4:30 pm Arrival and Welcome [Participants arrive having fasted since noon]
4:30 pm Icebreakers: Drops of Water or People Search
5:15 pm Opening Liturgy
5:45 pm Deepening Awareness Activity: Water Bingo
6:15 pm Reflection Activity: I Thirst or Exploring Solidarity
6:45 pm Juice Break
7:30 pm Simulation Game: AMANZI or Water for Profit
10:45pm Reflection Activity: Drinking Mindfully
11:15 pm Video: The Story of Stuff or After the Tsunami

DAY 2
8:00 am Juice Break
8:15 am Icebreaker: Secure the Water or Water Riddles
9:00 am Deepening Awareness Activity: Walking for Water or Journey of Bottled
Water
10:00 am Juice Break
10:30 am Action: Development and Peace Animation clip and The Story of Bottled
Water video
11:00 Action: Skits, Pledge Cards and Action Ideas - Create a Bottled Water Free
Zone in your school or parish!
12:00 Closing Liturgy and Commissioning
1 pm Celebration – Break the fast with a solidarity meal!

8 2011
After Your Fast
Send in Donations and Tax Receipt Forms
Promptly collect donations and send the funds you raised to Development and Peace. The
sooner you do, the sooner your group starts helping to make a difference.

Use the Tax Receipt Forms to record the names, addresses and postal codes of all the people
who donated more than $10 and would like a receipt for tax purposes. You can fill the forms in
online or by mail. More information on these step in the Toolkit section.

Please make out your cheques to Development and Peace and indicate the funds were raised
through THINKfast! Return funds and forms by MAY 27, 2011.

Youth are better able to understand the work of DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE after they have
completed the THINKfast. Consider encouraging them to continue their THINKfast fundraising
even after the fast is completed.

a ti on f o r m s on the
ed evalu
We’ve provid b ot h p a r ti c ipants and
D, for
Resource DV b e th r ille d to hear
e would
Organizers. W n c o n ti nu e to improve
we ca
from you, so fa st re s o u rces.
your THIN K

On behalf of
Development and
Peace members
across Canada…
Thank you!

2011 9
 Regional Animators 2010-2011
BC/WHITEHORSE
John Gabor
2690 Stockton Crescent
Abbotsford, BC V2S 4K2
Tel: (604)864-6383
john.gabor@devp.org
ALBERTA/MACKENZIE
Sara Michel
8421 101st Ave
Edmonton AB T6A 0L1
Tel: (780)424-1557
Fax: (780)465-3003
sara.michel@devp.org
SASKATCHEWAN
Armella Sonntag
PO Box 1838
Battleford, SK S0M 0E0
Tel: (306)937-7675
armella.sonntag@devp.org
MANITOBA
Brenda Chaput-Saltel
211 Edmonton Street
Winnipeg, MB R3C 1R4
Tel: (204)231-2848
Fax: (204)237-7471
brenda.chaput-saltel@devp.org
ONTARIO
Peterborough/Toronto/
Kingston, Sault Ste Marie (anglo)
Luke Stocking
10 St. Mary St. Suite 420
Toronto ON M4Y 1P9
Tel: 416-922-1592 ext 225
Fax: 416-922-0957
luke.stocking@devp.org
10
Alexandria-Cornwall/ GATINEAU/HULL
Ottawa/ Pembroke Normand Comte
Ann-Chrstina Gamillscheg 180 boul Mont-Bleu
1247 Kilborn Pl Hull QC J8Z 3J5
Ottawa ON K1H 6K9 TEL (819)771-8391
Tel: (613)738-9644 FAX (819)778-8969
Fax: (613)738-0130 normand.comte@devp.org
ann-christina.gamillscheg
@devp.org QUEBEC
Montreal
Hamilton/London/St.Catharines Marcelle Sinclair
Thunder Bay Jean-Paul St. Germain
Paul Lemieux 1425 Rene Levesque Blvd W
64 Barclay St. Montréal QC H3G 1T7
Hamilton ON L8S 1P4 TEL 514-257-8711
Tel: (905)528-0770 FAX 514-257-8497
paul.lemieux@devp.org jean-paul.st-
germaine@devp.org
ATLANTIC CANADA marcelle.sinclair@devp.org
Danny Gillis
Development and Peace QUEBEC
c/o Coady Institute Baie-Comeau,Chicoutimi,
PO Box 5000 Gaspé, Nicolet, Quebec,
Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5 2Y3 Rimouski, Ste Anne de la
Tel: (902)867-4951 Pocatiere
Fax: (902)867-3907 Claudine Gagnon
danny.gillis@devp.org Éric Chastenay
1073Rene Levesque Blvd W.
NEW BRUNSWICK René-Lévesque O.
Estelle Dumont-Paillard Quebec City, QC G1S 4R5
PO Box 212 TEL (418)683-9901
Edmudston, NB E3V 3K8 FAX (418)683-9331
Tel: (506) 258-6376 claudine.gagnon@devp.org
Fax: (506) 263-8513 eric.chastenay@devp.org
estelle.dumont-paillard@devp.org
2011
 201 1

2.1 ICEBREAKERS
2.2 DEEPENING AWARENESS
2.3 REFLECTION AND REST
2.4 COMMITTING TO ACTION
2.5 SOLIDARITY CELEBRATION
11
 2.1 R E A K E R S
ICEBg up to the world
Warmin h othe r
and e ac

*
More icebreaker and energizer games are available online at:
http://youth.devp.org/thinkfast
Waves Crash For - In this group activity, your interaction with your daily water supply could mean
the difference between you sitting comfortably or being put on the spot.
All My Neighbours - Remember musical chairs? This get-to-know-you game works for any size
group, large or small, and for any age group.
Bottled Water Guzzler - Understanding the truth behind our usage of bottled water is sure to
provide some awareness of this troublesome environmental issue.

Icebreaker One: Secure the water

Objective: To demonstrate the issue of water access and privatization.
Time: 5-8 minutes
Number of People: 4-80, participants in groups of 4
Materials: Small water balloons, enough for 3 out of every 4 people
Preparation: Fill water balloons about ¼ - ½ full

How to play the game:

• For this game participants are divided up into groups of four.
• Of each group of four - three people will be “Water Carriers” (who represent people in the
Global South) and 1 person will be a “Water Chaser” (who represents transnational water
companies seeking to privatize water).
• For large groups - the “Water Carriers” should outnumber the “Water Chasers” by a ratio
of 3:1 = 3 Carriers for every 1 Chaser. For a smaller group – use a ratio of 2:1.
• Each “Water Carrier” receives one small water balloon.
• The “Water Carriers” must keep passing/throwing their water balloon back and forth
within their group. Their goal is to keep the water from the “Chaser” for 5 minutes or
longer.

12 2011
 • The “Water Chasers” have the task of interrupting the “Carriers” – to catch or grab the
water, without touching the “Carriers”.
• The game is over when the “Water Chasers” have captured all the water balloons, or after 5
minutes, whichever comes first.

Energizer: Rainmaker
Objective: A quick energizer, also good for in between sessions. To energize the group and have fun
by creating your own rainstorm.

How to play:
• Ask group to sit in a circle. Leader joins the circle.
• Leader starts by rubbing his/her hands and sends this action to the person to his/her right.
Action continues around the circle one person at a time until everyone is rubbing his or her
hands. Then the leader snaps fingers, passing it on as before. Then two fingers tapping,
then hands clapping on legs, then feet stomping etc and the noises gradually get louder and
end up as a rainstorm. After the crescendo, do everything backwards until it is quiet again.

Icebreaker Two: Drops of water

Objective: To get to know each other and identify our relationships with water in daily life.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Number of People: 6-80 people
Materials: Music cd and music player
Preparation: Copy of the list of questions relating to water use, or create your own

How to play:
• Participants move around the room to the music (walking or running).
• Facilitator cuts the music and calls out a number of drops of water (1, 2, 6, 15… you can go
as high as the # of participants in the group).
• Participants need to gather together into groups of the size of the number called (1, 2, or 6
etc).
• Within their little groups, ask one question for the small group to share their answers:
o What is your favourite place to swim?
o Favourite water sport?
o How many glasses of water do you drink a day?
o Name a body of water (or lake, ocean etc) you have been to.
• The Facilitator can alternate from calling numbers to calling out: “Get together in groups of

2011 13
 people…”
o wearing the same colour of socks.
o with the same eye-colour.
o from the same parish
o with same number of siblings.
• Feel free to create your own questions

Icebreaker Three: Water Riddles - Guess who, where,

what am I!
Objective: To familiarize with the different environmental, social,
economic impacts of water privatization.
Time: 15 mins
Number of People: 4-80 people
Materials: Chart paper and marker

Preparation: Write the answers to riddles on chart paper

Water (1) Bottled water (17) 50% (15)
The Global South (4) A plastic bottle (3) Oil (2)
Indonesia (5) 3 Litres (16) Refillable bottle (13)
80% (7) 22 million tons (6) Canadian tap water (10)
Water Campaign Pledge (20) Money (11) Privatization (14)
Environment (8) 1.9 billion litres (18) Canada (9)
Clean safe drinking water (12) Nestle and Coca-Cola (19)

How to play the game:

• Choose the questions that will most suit your group.
• Read aloud the different sets of riddles.
• Students guess the answers to riddles in teams or individually.

Riddle questions:
1. I make up 70% of the earth, but only 3% of me is fresh, 1 in 6 people don’t have enough of
me, some claim it’s a human right, others claim it for profit, what am I?
2. One quarter of a litre of me is needed to make 1 litre of bottled water; what am I?
3. It can take up to 1,000 years for me to break down; what am I?
4. Sales of bottled water are increasing in my part of the world; where am I?
5. I am the 2nd largest market for bottled water in Asia; where am I?
6. As water, this much of me is transferred from country to country each year; what am I?
7. This percentage of disposed plastic bottles will end up in landfill sites or burn in incinerators,
releasing toxins each year; what percentage am I?
8. Large amounts of energy and fossil fuels are wasted to produce, transport and dispose of
plastic bottles. I am exhausted with the depletion of my natural resources; what am I?

14 2011
 9. 17. 2% of my fellow country folk drink exclusively bottled water; what country am I from?
10. I am tested more frequently, I am virtually free, and research has shown samples of me to
have lower rates of bacteria then bottled water samples; what am I?
11. You can’t eat or drink me, but it’s hard to eat or drink without me. I talk without saying a
word. I make people smile or suffer, but I have no personality. Some make lots of me, while
others have little or none. Most people are happy to hold me, but I don’t feel a thing; what
am I?
12. 1 out of 1 billion people do not have access to me; what am I?
13. I can be carried around, filled up at anytime with water at next to no cost; what am I?
14. I prepare society to look at water as a product, rather than a human right; what am I?
15. In most municipalities, this percentage of plastic water bottles in Canada is recycled; what
percentage am I?
16. As water, this much of me is needed to produce a one-litre bottle of water; what am I?
17. People in the U.S. purchase more than half a billion of me per week; enough to circle the
globe five times over. It costs 2000 times more to purchase me than what should be free;
what am I?
18. As water, this much of me is bottled in Canada each year; what am I?
19. We are major players in the bottled water business who acquired over half of the 2nd
largest bottled water company in Indonesia; what am I?
20. I am waiting to be signed, for people to choose tap water over bottled water, whenever
possible, and to commit to supporting publicly owned and operated water systems; what
am I?

Icebreaker Four: People Search

Objective: To get to know each other and begin thinking about some THINKfast topics.
Time: 20 minutes
Number of People: 4-80 people
Materials: People Search activity sheet and pens/pencils for
participants
Preparation: Photocopy one ‘People Search’ sheet for each person

How to play:
• Give each person a People Search activity sheet
• Give group a set amount of time (15 min) to talk to as many
people as possible and put a name in each square.
• At the end, read each box and add additional info (offered by self or group).

Points of interest:
• The three cities named are all cities where public water was privatized.
• Mexico has the highest bottled water consumption after US.
• Likes to be in plays and skits – try and involve these people later in doing skits
• Congratulate people who raised $50+

2011 15
People Search
Brought a reusable water Lives less than 100 m from a Tries to conserve water in Can name three brands of bot-
bottle body of water their house tled water

(3 points) (2 points) (3 points) (2 points)

Turns the tap off when Knows what the D and the P Knows the country with the Has donated money to help
brushing their teeth in ‘D. and P’ stand for highest consumption of the Haiti emergency relief
bottled water after the U.S. effort?

(2 points) (1 point) (2 points) (2 points)

Can name a world religion Has signed a petition Has attended a THINKfast Likes to be in skits and plays
(other than Christianity) that and sent it to our elected before
uses water in its rituals leaders

(3 points) (2 points) (2 points) (2 points)

Works or studies at a place
where bottled water is sold in
vending machines
Vacationed within the last
year near water
Raised more than $50 in Knows what country each of
Thinkfast pledges these cities are in:
Johannesburg
Detroit
Moncton

(2 points) (1 point) (3 points) (1 point)

How many points can you collect? _______

16 2011
 2.2 Deepening
ar e n e
Aw Activitiesss

*
More deepening awareness activities are available online at:
http://youth.devp.org/thinkfast
The Amazing Water Race: Go through all four countries & end up with the most water!
A Day in the Life of... : A simulation game to experience the effects of water scarcity, learn about
water privatization, and water access and usage. Great for small and large groups.
The E.W.B. Water Filtration Game: A water filtration game to learn about the universal need for
access to clean safe drinking water, in Canada and in the Global South.
The World Goes Shopping: Discover spending habits and reflect on potential for change.

Activity One: Water Bingo

Objective: To learn about water issues in a fun way
Time: 30 min
Number of People: 4-80 people
Materials: Water bingo water questions, container, blank sheets of paper
and pens, prizes (ex: fair trade chocolate)
Preparation: Copy and cut up water bingo questions and put into the
container. List the 12 Water Bingo answers on the blackboard or flip chart paper.

How to play the game:

• Ask each person to create one bingo card with 9 squares. Each participant should fill in one
answer per square; they can pick any 9 of the 12 answers.
• Have participants exchange their cards with someone else.
• Pick a water bingo question from the container. Read the question and ask students to guess
the answer. Once the correct answer is identified, participants who have the answer on
their card, mark off the square.
• When they make a line or their card is full, they win a prize.

2011 17
 12 Water Bingo questions:
! The number of people without access to clean, safe water. (Ans: 1 in 6)
! Sales of bottled water in Mexico in 2008 were $5.4 billion, 3 times that of this country.
(Ans: Canada)
! A non-biodegradable item and can take up to 1000 years to break down (Ans: plastic bottle)
! Two of the many bottled water brands that are often filtered tap water. (Ans: Pepsi’s
Aquafina and Coco-Cola’s Disani)
! Said that the biggest enemy of bottled water is tap water. ( Ans: Pepsi’s Vice-Chairman)
! Major players in the bottled water business; in 2004 they acquired more than half of the
2nd largest bottled water company in Indonesia. (Ans: Nestle and Coca-Cola)
! One quarter of a litre is needed to make 1 litre of bottled water. (Ans: Oil)
! This is about turning water into a commodity to be sold as a consumer good, rather than a
human right. (Ans: Privatization)
! While the earth is made up of 70% water, only 3% of is freshwater, most of which is found in
these areas. (Ans: polar ice caps, glaciers)
! The city where public opposition stopped the water supply from being privatized.
(Ans: Toronto)
! The amount of water needed to produce one-litre bottle of water. (Ans: 3 litres)
! The 2nd largest market for bottled water in Asia (Ans: Indonesia)

*
Activity Two: AMANZI* (Water Simulation Game)
AMANZI is easy to play and a lot of fun! Don’t be overwhelmed by the text, try it out!!!
A new yet similar simulation game called ‘A Day in the Life of…’ is available online and on
the DVD; it is great for smaller groups!
* AMANZI means water in Zulu.

Time: 60-90 minutes

Number of participants: 8-80 people
Objective: Participants will
1. Learn about the current water situation and related issues in the world.
2. Think about their values and how they compare with the values of others.
3. Develop ideas and take action in response to what they’ve learned

Game Overview:
The game has three phases: Setting the Stage, the Action and the Community Meeting

PHASE I: Setting the Stage

Participants form their families (6 people) and develop their identity.

18 2011
PHASE II: The Action
The game lasts 5 rounds. In each round, the family must do two things: pick an EVENT card and
get water from the well. The cost of water is indicated on their family description and varies for
each family dependent on distance to the well. As well, with each event, tokens are gained or
lost. During the game, news bulletins are announced which affect everyone.
Success is measured by the number of water tokens each family has. Water tokens do not
represent money solely but also well-being and opportunity. Each family begins with the same
number but circumstances, like distance to water, will cause disparity. Additionally, as families
amass more tokens they benefit. For example, at the end of round 3, the top-third families can
choose their EVENT card from a deck with more advantageous events.
If a family runs out of tokens, they go into debt. A family cannot choose not to get water or
not to select a card, since people will die without water.

PHASE III: Community Meeting

A Community Organizer from the Development and Peace partner group, KRUHA, calls
everyone together for a community meeting to discuss water concerns. Each family then
discusses their situation and that of the community and comes up with a proposal. Families
then share their proposals with the other families and the Community Organizer. KRUHA will
then take ideas and present them to the government.

PREPARATION:
Materials Included: Organizers need to supply:
4 Map 4 Water jug/sink … representing the well
4 Family Descriptions 4 1 cup and 1 pitcher for each family
4 EVENT cards deck one 4 1 pitcher for each family
4 EVENT cards deck two 4 4 containers (for tokens, RISK
4 RISK cards cards, EVENT cards deck 1 and 2)
4 Tokens (25 per group plus 20 for bank) 4 Flip chart or black board
4 Role Descriptions 4 Bell or whistle
4 Paper for Family Crest and/or house
building supplies (optional)
BEFORE GETTING STARTED:
• Photocopy family descriptions. You’ll need one for each group (6 people max) and you want
an equal number of families in each region (Watopia, Flowdia and Desertia).
• Photocopy and cut a set of role descriptions and 25 tokens for each family. For smaller
families, just use top four Roles on Role Description sheet.
• Prepare an envelope for each group containing a family description, 1 set of role
descriptions and 25 tokens. Indicate on the envelope what region the family lives in.
• Reproduce cards (deck 1, deck 2 and Risk). Mix each deck well and keep separate.
• Write the questions for families in phase 1 on flipchart (see game schedule)
• Draw the following table on flipchart. The number of rows should equal the number of
families.

2011 19
LOCATION FAMILY # OF TOKENS # OF TOKENS # OF TOKENS # OF TOKENS # OF TOKENS
NAME AFTER ROUND 1 AFTER ROUND 2 AFTER ROUND 3 AFTER ROUND 4 AFTER ROUND 5
Watopia

Desertia

Flowdia

In addition to Facilitator, you’ll need one Banker and one Well Monitor for each 6 families, an
Events Monitor, and a Radio Announcer. Facilitator can play roles of Events Monitor and Radio
Announcer too.

SET UP:
• Create a “well” in the room with a water jug. Place RISK cards and Well Monitor here.
• Set up a table for the EVENTS cards and Events Monitor.
• Draw on flipchart (or project with overhead) a map of the community showing 3 regions.
• Assign areas for each group with Watopia families closest to well and Desertia families
furthest from the well. You may wish to represent landmines with physical barriers that
make it more difficult for Flowdia and Desertia families.

Game Schedule - Step-by-step directions

PHASE I – Setting the Stage

Divide participants into groups of 6. Each group represents a family living in in Indonesia.
Read:
This simulation game will give you a sense of what life is like when one’s access to clean water is
limited and under threat. In this game, you are each part of a family living in Indonesia. The
country suffers regularly from droughts and flooding. The country has large gaps between rich
and poor and a history of human rights violations.
You can see from the map of the area you live in, that there are three distinct regions: Watopia,
Flowdia and Desertia. A river runs through this region.
Watopia is on the north side of the river. This is the most fertile land since it is a river valley.
Flowdia is located several kilometers south of the river. Desertia is far from the river in a
mountainous and dry area. Most of the land in Desertia is owned by an absentee landlord who
has decided not to farm here because of the poor soil. Many poor people have built their homes
here. Each day they worry if the landlord will come and kick them off his land. Separating
Flowdia from Desertia is an abandoned field littered with landmines from an earlier conflict.
Just recently, the government completed construction on a public well for your community. It is
just north of the river, near the families of Watopia.

20 2011
 Give each group one of the prepared envelopes. Ask each family to read their family
description to find out where they live, and then develop a more detailed description of their
family: Each family has at least two parents, a child and a grandparent. What is your family
name? How old are each of you? What is your living situation? What do you like to do? Ask each
family to present themselves to the whole community.
Optional: Provide materials for family to build their house, or to design a family crest, or other
activity that will strengthen their identification with their family.

PHASE II – The Action

Using the family and role description sheets as guides, explain the following:
• Game lasts 5 rounds.
• In each round, your family must do three things:
1. Get Water 2. Pick an EVENT card 3. Record the event and # of tokens.
• The cost of water is based on where you live:
Watopia – 1 token
Flowdia – 2 tokens
Desertia – If you take long, safe route = 4 tokens
If you take short, risky route = 2 tokens (lucky) or 6 tokens (unlucky)
• Each family needs a Recorder, Banker, Water Carriers (2), and Event Pickers (2)
• Each family begins with 25 tokens
• The goal of the game is to have the most tokens.

INTRODUCE THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE GAME:

Well Monitor(s) – Make sure people pay the correct amount. Desertians may pick risk cards.
Events Monitor – Make sure people pick from the correct deck.
Banker(s) – Walk around and collect tokens from families after they have read the EVENT card.
Radio Announcer – Make general announcements as detailed below.
Facilitator – Begin & end rounds and keep track of scores.
*If short of people, Facilitator can play roles of Events Monitor and Radio Announcer as well.
To ensure each family has identified who is doing what… ask all the Water Carriers to raise their
hands (2 from each family)? Do the same for Bankers (1 per family), Event Pickers (2 per family),
and Recorders (1 per family).

Round 1
When all the families have finished their three tasks and Banker has collected tokens, ring bell
and record scores on visible chart. (Repeat after every round)

Radio Announcer NEWS BULLETIN #1

News just in that a multi-national soft drink company will begin operation of its bottling water
plant just down the road. They chose our area, because it is cheaper to operate here than in
North America. They are draining water from our groundwater. The water in the well is at
record low levels. Each family loses 3 tokens.

2011 21
 Round 2 – Play and record scores.
Round 3 – Play and record scores.
Radio Announcer NEWS BULLETIN #2
We’ve just received word that an international water corporation, received a contract from our
government to set up a privately owned water system. They’ve promised safe drinking water to
all our houses. This is a huge relief for our government, and for us – no more walking to the
well. Now, the corporation will build pipes to all the houses. You will save the time that you
spent collecting water and your kids can go to school again. Each family gets 3 tokens. (And
you don’t need to go to the well this round)
(Facilitator) In addition, top third of the families, get to draw EVENT cards from deck 2 now.

Round 4 – Play and record scores.

Radio Announcer NEWS BULLETIN #3
The company contracted to supply water has just decided to charge exorbitant rates for the
water to our homes. The top third of the families can afford it. They get 8 tokens. The bottom
two-thirds of the families can’t afford to pay their water bill and are locked out. The bottom
two-thirds must now depend on well water again. Getting water from the well has become
illegal since privatization under penalty of jail time. Lose 3 tokens.

Round 5 – Play and record scores.

PHASE III – Community Meeting

Introduce yourself as a Community Organizer from KRUHA (a partner of Development and
Peace on Indonesia, KRUHA stands for the People’s Coalition for the Right to Water). KRUHA is
doing community consultations across the country to find out what the people want. With the
information, KRUHA will make recommendations to the government. Access to clean drinking
water is a human right and our government must ensure we all have water. Call a community
meeting of all the families to discuss water concerns. Summarize the situation of the families
according to the number of tokens charted on the flip chart.

Pose the question, what should be done? Refer participants to the questions on the bottom of
the family card sheet which ask them to record obstacles they faced and positive events which
happened to them, and then come up with recommendations to improve access to water.

Families then present their proposals and their rationale. Flipchart these recommendations.
Thank the families for their participation and let them know that you will report back to them in
several months.
END OF GAME

22 2011
ENERGIZER/BREAK
Take a break or do an energizer to help transition out of the game.

DEBRIEFING
To share experience, do some analyses and make connections with the real world.

Move into a large circle; take time to debrief with particular attention to emotions that
participants experienced during the game. Some discussion starters:
How do you feel about the family you were in?
What events made you happy? Frustrated?
Did you have control? Was it fair for you? Was it fair for others?
What did this game remind you of in real life?

Some points to bring out in discussion:

• People don’t always have control over what happens to them.
• Access to clean water is a human right.
• It is the responsibility of governments to ensure all citizens have access to clean water.
• The lives of many people are being seriously impacted by actions taken by large
corporations, like draining groundwater and the privatizing water systems.
• Our support of these corporations is impacting others negatively, e.g. buying their products,
remaining silent.

FOLLOW UP
Committing to Action activities in this THINKfast
give participants a chance to connect this game
with real events happening in the world and to
participate in the CCODP WATER for ALL: let justice
flow! campaign.

2011 23
 GAME ACCESSORIES

24 2011
Photocopy one for each family. Cut up and put in envelopes for families.
For smaller families, just use top four roles.

Role descriptions:

You are the Recorder. Each round you record the events that
happen to your family and the amount of tokens you have on
your family card.

You are the Banker. You are in charge of the tokens.

You are a Water Carrier. You take turns going to the well to
get water. Use water tokens to get water.

You pick the EVENT cards. You take turns picking the EVENT
card for your family and reporting back.

You are a Water Carrier. You take turns going to the well to
get water. Use water tokens to get water.

You pick the EVENT cards. You take turns picking the EVENT
card for your family and reporting back

2011 25
 NAME: Your family’s name is _______________
LOCATION: You live in Desertia. Desertia is far from the river in a mountainous and dry area.
desertia
An absentee landlord who has decided not to farm here because of the poor soil owns most of
the land in Desertia. Many poor people have built their homes here. Each day you worry if the
landlord will come and kick you off his land. Separating Flowdia from Desertia is an abandoned
field littered with landmines from an earlier conflict.

INCOME: You live on less than $1 a day.

ACCESS TO WATER:
It takes 6 hours to fetch water at the new well. There is a shortcut though. The shortest path to
the well leads through a field that contains land mines. This route saves time and is less tiring,
but risky. Decide what you want to do.
If you take the short route, you will have to pick a RISK card at the well.
If you are lucky, you pay 2 tokens. If you are unlucky and are injured, you pay 6 tokens.
If you take the longer route, you pay 4 tokens.

GAME INSTRUCTIONS for each round:

Get water – Water Carriers take turns
Pick an EVENT card – Event Pickers take turns, pick card and report back
Record what happened – Recorder records event that happened and number of tokens

ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3 ROUND 4 ROUND 5

# of tokens after each round

Events happened to your

family

Community Meeting

OBSTACLES POSITIVE THINGS RECOMMENDATIONS

26 2011
 NAME: Your family’s name is _______________
LOCATION: You live in Flowdia. Flowdia is located several kilometres south of the river. It is
between Desertia and Watopia.
flowdia
INCOME: You live on less than $1 a day.

ACCESS TO WATER:
You can cross the river at three points to get to the new well. It takes 3 hours to get water. You
pay 2 tokens.

GAME INSTRUCTIONS for each round:

Get water – Water Carriers take turns
Pick an EVENT card – Event Pickers take turns, pick card and report back
Record what happened – Recorder records event that happened and number of tokens

ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3 ROUND 4 ROUND 5

# of tokens after each round

Events happened to your

family

Community Meeting

OBSTACLES POSITIVE THINGS RECOMMENDATIONS

2011 27
 NAME: Your family’s name is _______________
LOCATION: You live in Watopia. Watopia is on the north side of the river. This is the most
fertile land since it is a river valley.
watopia
INCOME: You live on less than $1 a day.

ACCESS TO WATER:
You can get clean water at the new well, which is only 10 minutes away. This is a huge
improvement from depending on the river. You pay 1 token for water.

GAME INSTRUCTIONS for each round:

Get water – Water Carriers take turns
Pick an EVENT card – Event Pickers take turns, pick card and report back
Record what happened – Recorder records event that happened and number of tokens

ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3 ROUND 4 ROUND 5

# of tokens after each round

Events happened to your

family

Community Meeting

OBSTACLES POSITIVE THINGS RECOMMENDATIONS

28 2011
35 Tokens – You’ll need approx 1 sheet per family in your game. [Each family gets 25 tokens]

☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
2011 29
Photocopy and cut one copy per 3 groups, 2 copies for 6 groups.
Further up the river, a
dam was built in order to
provide rich people in the
capital city with electricity.
The water level is lower in
the river. People are now
using more well water.
Pay 2 tokens.
Your children are sick
because they drank
unsafe water. Lose 2
tokens
Your grandmother died.
Now you have to look
after your smaller siblings
while your mom collects
water. You have to stay
home from school in the
mornings. Lose 1 token.
Even though your family
has some land to grow
food, this year you can’t
harvest enough to get you
through winter, because
there wasn’t enough
water to take care of the
land. Lose 2 tokens.
30
EVENT CARDS – DECK 1
A factory in a nearby city
is polluting the river. The
fish from the river are no
longer safe to eat. Pay 3
tokens.
There is a cholera
outbreak in your village,
and many people are
dying. Your child is sick. If
you can pay 10 tokens, a
doctor can see your child.
If not, your child is going
to die.
Your back is sore because
of carrying the water.
Lose 2 tokens.
Your husband leaves you
to go to the city where he
is hoping to find a job.
Now you are alone with
your children and need to
manage everything by
yourself. You have just
enough time to look after
the kids and get water,
but you can’t afford to buy
much food. Lose 2 tokens.
There is a drought this There was a flood when
summer and it just doesn’t the first rain started after a
rain. Lose 4 tokens. long period of dryness.
Your small garden is
flooded and the food that
you are growing has gone
bad. Lose 3 tokens.
Your mother is feeling Its harvest season and you
sick, so you and your have to help your father in
siblings have to walk to the coffee fields. You will
collect the water for your miss school for 3 weeks.
family. You miss school. Lose 2 tokens.
Lose 4 tokens.
You join a women’s group You lost your job on a
that is working for water farm, because there was
tanks close to your home. no water and the
A tank would save you production had to be
time for collecting the stopped. Lose 3 tokens.
water and will provide you
with enough water for
bathing, drinking and
cleaning. Get 3 tokens.
A thief attacked you on You learn how to collect
the way to the well. Lose rainwater from one of
2 tokens. your neighbours. If you
live in Flowdia or Desertia,
you get 1 token because
now you don’t have to get
as much water from the
well. If your family lives in
Watopia, it doesn’t really
matter since the well is so
close.
2011
Photocopy and cut one copy per 3 groups, 2 copies for 6 groups.
EVENT CARDS – DECK 2
You participate in training on sustainable consumption You participate in training on sustainable farming which
and saving of water. Get 2 tokens. requires less water. Get 3 token.

You participate in a class on health issues related to water
which helps you to avoid drinking unsafe water to prevent
getting sick. Get 2 tokens.
If you pay 4 tokens, you can buy a piece of land and grow
your own food. This will enable you to independently
feed your family. However, your crops require water
which means there is less for others. Collect 2 tokens
from each of the other families because there will be
even less water available to them.

You participate in training on sustainable consumption You participate in training on sustainable farming which
and saving of water. Get 2 tokens. requires less water. Get 3 tokens.

RISK CARDS
You are lucky; you made your way safely through the You got badly injured when a land mine exploded close to
field. Pay 2 tokens for your water. where you were walking. You are lucky though you could
have been killed. Pay 6 tokens for your water.

You are lucky; you made your way safely through the You got badly injured when a land mine exploded close to
field. Pay 2 tokens for your water. where you were walking. You are lucky though you could
have been killed. Pay 6 tokens for your water.

You got badly injured when a land mine exploded close to You got badly injured when a land mine exploded close to
where you were walking. You are lucky though you could where you were walking. You are lucky though you could
have been killed. Pay 6 tokens for your water. have been killed. Pay 6 tokens for your water.

2011 31
AMANZI Follow-up REALITY CHECK!
Time: 30 minutes
Objective: For participants to make connections between their simulation game experience and
the real life experiences of other people
Materials: A Water for All: let justice flow! poster and Fall Action sheets (1 per group) – use
registration form provided to order.

Activity:
1. Show the poster. Explain that Water for All: let justice flow! is the campaign theme for
DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE. Take a few moments to explain what D and P is.
2. Tell participants:
o Watopia, Flowdia and Desertia are not real places that you can visit but
unfortunately they do represent the experiences of many, particularly in the
Global South.
3. Use the tabloid of DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE and the next page to present real life
examples and DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE partners who work on the theme of water.
o Other significant events have occurred also in the real life examples of events that
happened to you. Take a few moments to share these examples:
Name the place where… (flipchart)
a. Water Rates Go Up after privatization
b. People are “Locked Out” when they can’t pay
c. Bad Water causes Sickness and Death
d. Fatigue and Health Problems from carrying water
e. People take action to improve the situation

(Answers: a) Manila, Philippines b) Johannesburg, South Africa c) Walkerton, ON d) Benin and many parts of South
e) Porto Alegre, Brazil; Philippines, Freedom from Debt and Focus on the Global South; El Salvador, UNES; Brazil, CPT;
South Africa, ILRIG and AiDC; Canada, Development and Peace)

4. Share with group these other events that happened in real life and in game. Use next page
to explain to the participants what events took place:
A. Water “Access Denied” from small-scale farmers
Development and Peace partner KRUHA (the People’s Coalition for the Right to
Water) was formed in 2002 as Indonesia was debating a new World Bank-
influenced water law. The law passed in 2005, and favors privatization of the
control and management of the country’s water resources.
B. “Free Water” becomes illegal after water is privatized
In 1999, the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia leased its water system to a subsidiary of
the Bechtel Corporation. Water prices went up and it became illegal to get “free
water” or to collect rainwater.

32 2011
 The COORDINATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF WATER AND
LIFE lead by Oscar Olivera and Development and Peace
partners Escuela del Pueblo de Primero de Mayo, recently
organized the 3rd annual WATER MARKET in Cochabamba,
Bolivia.
This international meeting brought close to 400 people
together: peasants and farmers, city people, union leaders,
local water cooperatives, as well as organizations and social
movements from local to international level
3rd Feria del Agua in Bolivia
Together, they shared common concerns about water on
many levels: from consumption, irrigation, the mining
industry, water depletion and pollution, to new ideas for
water management.
They all learned from the change of heart in Bolivia and the
experience of organizing and managing water as local
communities. With Bolivia bringing water back into the
hands of the people, around the world this news is a true
source of hope and inspiration.
KRUHA Staff
Our partner KRUHA, the People’s Coalition for the
Right to Water, began when Indonesia was dealing
with a new World Bank-influenced water law. The
law passed in 2005, and favors privatization of the
control and management of the country’s water
resources.
KRUHA brings together more than 30 Indonesian
organizations working to ensure access to water
throughout the Indonesian population, more
particularly the most marginalized populations.
KRUHA believes that the state has a duty to satisfy
the basic needs of the population - including
access to water.
Abah Uyeh and his family
KRUHA's mission is to promote community
management of water, and strengthen public
control of access to drinking water in rural and
urban areas. Their main concern is the recognition
of water as a human right.
2011 33
Activity Three: Water for Profit?
Objective: To learn about the World Bank’s role in water
privatization and to loosely simulate how the World Bank is
involved in encouraging water privatization using the Catholic
See-Judge-Act model.
Time: 2 hours
Number of People: 2-6 groups with 7-9 people in each group

Materials:
• Copies of agendas
• Tokens – red, green and blue (you can use pieces of construction paper)
• Make 1 Voting Sheet per group – a sheet of paper with ‘Yes to Privatization’ on one half and
‘No to Privatization’ on the other half.
• Campaign 2010 powerpoint presentation on resource DVD (available upon registering
THINKfast with Development and Peace)
• Copies of ‘After Privatization’ sheet

Preparation: You will need three Activity Leaders and one overall Facilitator.
Let the participants know that in many places, the future of a country’s water is under hot
debate. During this activity, they will take on different roles and participate in this debate to
better understand and SEE how the World Bank is involved in encouraging water privatization.
Then, they will step back and JUDGE the situation. Then, there will be an opportunity to take
action; see ACTION section.

How to play the game:

PART I “SEE” (40-50 MINUTES)
1. Participants should be divided into ‘home groups’ of seven to nine people (up to 6 groups).
2. Within each of these groups, members should be further subdivided into the following: 2
World Bank representatives, 1-2 government representative(s), and 4-5 citizens (the number
of citizens in each group should always form a majority over the combined World Bank and
government representatives).
3. All those who are representing the World Bank should be gathered together in a separate
area in order to be briefed on their roles by an Activity Leader. The same should be done for
the “government representatives” and “citizens” respectively.
4. Relevant “Agendas” should be handed out to each participant.
Activity leaders should read up ahead of time and be prepared to provide direction and
answer any questions.
• The briefing should allow students to get to know their role and to
understand their motivation and goals before they return to their home group.
• Before returning to home groups, each member is given an appropriate ‘token’
with which they will later cast their vote (blue – World Bank, red – government,
green – citizens).

34 2011
 5. Once ‘home groups’ are reunited, participants are given a set amount of time
(approximately 15-20 minutes) to negotiate an agreement that would best serve each of
their agendas. No representative can disregard or modify agenda items. Participants are
encouraged to reach a consensus and will have a chance to vote on the decision at the end.
6. After the allotted time has expired, announce that it is time to take a vote. Give each group
a “voting sheet”, and ask all members to cast a vote on the privatization of the country’s
water by placing their token on the appropriate half of the voting sheet. After voting is
completed, ask every group where the “Yes to Water Privatization” vote won to stand up.
7. Inform the group that in fact, all their votes do not carry equal weight:
Blue tokens – World Bank – 20 votes
Red tokens – Government representatives – 10 votes
Green tokens – Citizens - 1 vote
8. You’ll likely hear a big groan from the citizens as World Bank participants recount the vote.
9. Home groups should then be handed an “After privatization…” fact sheet for a specific
country/city. (There are 6 different locations from around the world.) **Note: These facts
show the impact of privatization on citizens in countries of the North and South. The World
Bank was not involved in all of these instances.
10. Allow a few minutes for each group to process the information, then reconvene as one large
group. Ask each group to read their “After privatization …” information to the whole group.
Then, open up a broader discussion. Participants should be encouraged to share any
thoughts or feelings about their experiences: in their assigned ‘roles’, as members of the
home group, as individuals, or as global citizens.

PART II “JUDGE” (40-50 MINUTES)

1. Do review of SEE using the slides 5 – 17 of the Fall Action Campaign 2010 powerpoint
presentation.
2. Introduce the concept of a prism, i.e. a prism separates light into its different wavelengths.
Assign each home group one of the “Prisms” through which to view the issues of water and
corporate privatization and discover a particular “wavelength” or perspective.
3. Youth are to prepare a presentation of this position and their ‘judgement’ to the larger
group using any creative format they wish: skit, symbols, rap, role-playing, poster, poem,
song, etc.
4. Share presentations. Introduce each section by naming the prism through which this group
is presenting.

PART III “ACT” (15 MINUTES)

Present the action campaign and all of CCODP’s wonderful resources. Follow with suggested
steps of ACTION in THINKfast.

Activity created by Marika Ince, Hamilton D and P High School Committee

2011 35
 AGENDAS
World Bank Agenda
You are representatives of the World Bank – an institution that offers long term low-interest loans to
poor countries. After this briefing, you will meet with representatives of a country’s government and its
citizens where you will discuss the privatization of their water system. You must push for your agenda.
• In order to help poor countries manage their debt, you attach conditions to your loans. One of your
demands will be the privatization of the country’s water – its collection, infrastructure, treatment
and delivery systems.
• You offer more than $2 billion a year in loans for water development projects. You believe these
projects should be controlled by large water companies because you believe competition and the
drive for profit will lead to innovation and improved efficiency. You have developed close working
relationships with big water corporations through staff exchanges.
• You believe water should be treated no differently than top soil, silver, gravel, etc. When water is
free or very cheap, people take it for granted and waste it. Paying for water and treating it as a
commodity gives it value. Water is too important to be free.
• Governments must move towards “full cost recovery” , i.e. the full cost of the operation and
maintenance of the water utility service are paid for by the consumers through fees for water.
Public money should not be used to subsidize (give financial help) the cost of water utilities.
Return to your home groups to begin negotiations. At the end of negotiations, each member will have a
chance to vote on whether or not to privatize the water.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government Agenda
You are representatives of an indebted government. After this briefing, you will meet with
representatives of the World Bank and the citizens of your country where you will discuss the
privatization of your water system. You must push for your agenda.
• Your government is under crushing debt. You cannot afford to make even the interest payments on
your loans.
• The World Bank is willing to help you refinance your loans and provide much needed capital to allow
your government to continue to function. You have little choice but to work with the World Bank.
• All you have to do for this financial help is to accept the conditions attached to the loans.
• These conditions include privatizing your water delivery services. You simply allow private
companies to come in and control the source, treatment and delivery of water to your population.
• You cannot subsidize (help defray the costs of) water services and you must allow the company to
recover its costs and investments by guaranteeing they receive a significant profit.
• Your citizens may not be very supportive of this arrangement, but you have little choice. You will
need to minimize public opposition and formalize the agreement as quickly as possible so you can
access the much needed funding.
Return to your home group to begin negotiations. At the end of negotiations, each member will have a
chance to vote on whether or not to privatize the water.

36 2011
Citizen Agenda
You are a citizen of a country that, like many countries, is under crushing debt. In order to
receive much needed loans, your government is considering allowing private companies to
control and deliver water to the population. In exchange, your government will guarantee the
private company makes an ‘adequate’ profit. After this briefing, you will meet with
representatives from the World Bank and your government to discuss the privatization of the
water system. You are against the privatization of water because…
• You want clean and accessible water for you and your family. Dirty water and dehydration
lead to illness and death.
• You do not believe that a private company can serve you better than a public organization
run by and for the people. You know that the ultimate goal of any private company is to
make a profit and you are afraid the company will cater to those with lots of money and the
poor will not have access to clean water.
• You want your government to be ultimately responsible for providing safe and affordable
water to its citizens.
• You recognize that there are costs associated with water delivery, but it is not fair for the
costs to be so high for poor people that they are cut off. Many people in your country
survive on $1-$2 per day. They can’t afford high water prices.
• Water is considered to be ‘sacred’ or ‘holy’ to the various religions in your country.
To‘commodify’ or make water a product with a price tag is to commercialize part of
creation.
• You know that water is essential for life. You believe, therefore, that water is a human right.
• You believe that water is part of the ‘global commons’. It is a part of our world that we
should be free to use, just as the air we breathe. No one has the right to own something
that belongs to all life on this planet.
Return to your home group to begin negotiations. At the end of negotiations, each member will
have a chance to vote on whether or not to privatize the water.

2011 37
 AFTER PRIVATIZATION.......
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization…….
The average distance that women walk to collect water is six kilometres. The weight of water
that these women carry on their heads is equivalent to your airport luggage allowance (20
kilograms). The water is sometimes from an unclean or unsafe source and weighs enough to
risk the women haemorrhaging along the way. [This is what is happening in Africa and Asia.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization…….
Sales of bottled water in 2008 were $5.4 billion (3 times that of Canada), and are predicted to
be $7.6 billion by 2013. Only about 1/8 of the 21.3 million plastic water and soft drink bottles
that are used every day are recycled. Toxic waste from empty plastic bottles can leach into the
groundwater. Incineration of plastic bottles causes harmful chemicals to be released into the
air. [This is what happened in Mexico.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization…….
This country became the 2nd largest market for bottled water in Asia (after China) and the 7th
largest market in the world. In 2004, Nestle and Coca-Cola joined forces and acquired a 65%
share of the 2nd largest bottled water company in Indonesia. A spring-fed pool that was once
accessible to local citizens was recently bought by a bottled water company, and is now fenced
in and inaccessible. [This is what happened in Sukabumi, Indonesia.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization ……
The sale of bottled water rises between 2009 and 2013 very quickly, largely because of the poor
quality of the public water. Rising incomes are also seen as a reason for growth in sales. This
increase means that those who can afford bottled water may have access to safe drinking
water. For the poor, it can mean having to choose between unsafe drinking water or paying
high prices for bottled water. [This is what happened in Asia, Latin America and Africa.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization…….
Between 2003 and 2008, sale of bottled water increased 216% and is expected to double by
2014, where 36% of urban dwellers live on less than $1.25 a day; making bottled water
unaffordable to many and leaving them with little money for other daily expenses. [This is what
happened in India.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After privatization …….
Citizens experience frequent water cutoffs and brown water. Sewer rates go up annually by
12%. [This is what happened in Atlanta, Georgia.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Resources: Fall Action campaign material, CCODP, 2010; Fresh Water-Environment Canada website, Water Wars by
Vandana Shiva; Blue Gold by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, Public Citizen website,)

38 2011
 “JUDGING” THROUGH PRISMS

1. Millennium Development Goals: United Nations Development Program

(The Millennium Development Goals and targets come from the Millennium Declaration
signed by 189 countries at the UN, including 147 Heads of State, in Sept. 2000;
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/ )

Target 10: Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation.

More than 1.0 billion people in developing countries—one person in five—lack access to safe
water. And 2.4 billion lack access to improved sanitation. Both can be life and death issues.
Diarrhoea is a major killer of young children: in the 1990s it killed more children than all the
people lost to armed conflict since the Second World War. Most affected are poor people in
rural areas and slums.

Governments must ensure that poor people’s access to water and sanitation services is not
undermined by unfair charges that subsidize non poor people. The well-off must shoulder
more of the financial costs of maintaining the infrastructure for these services.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Council of Canadians
(The Council of Canadians is a grassroots organization that deals with issues of social and
environmental justice, sovereignty, and democracy.)

“Water is a Human Right.”

“Water is essential to life - no one should be able to control it or expropriate it for profit. In
the current global water crisis, billions of people still lack access to basic water and sanitation
services. Everyday, thousands of people die from preventable diseases contracted because
they do not have access to clean water.”
“We are all responsible for the destruction of our water systems and must collectively,
through our democratic institutions, reclaim, conserve and preserve water.”
“Water is a public trust and a human right to be guarded by all levels of government, and
should not be privatized, commodified or traded on the open market for profit.”

2011 39
 3. Private Corporations
('Water is an efficient product. It is a product which normally would be free and our job is to
sell it. But it is a product which is absolutely necessary to life'.)
Gerard Mestralet, CEO of Suez

“Water is a critical and necessary ingredient to the daily life of every human being, and it is an
equally powerful ingredient for profitable manufacturing companies.”
Senior executive at US Filter, a Vivendi Subsidiary

“Water promises to be to the 21st Century what oil was to the 20th Century: the precious
commodity that determines the wealth of nations.”
Fortune Magazine, May 2000

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Pastoral Letter on the Christian Ecological Imperative: Canadian Conference of Catholic

Bishops
(This except from a letter written by Canadian Bishops speaks to our duty as Christians to be
stewards of God’s creation.)

“The bible also teaches about an equitable distribution of resources, including sharing land,
animals and water. This insistence on justice is often directed towards distributing the bounty
of the earth and providing for those who are marginalized.[11]…Ecological problems are
enmeshed within social structures that serve the interests of the few at the expense of the
many, especially those marginalized and in poverty.”

“Such a basic human right as access to water cannot be left to the whims of market forces to
deliver. In our own country, Canadians should insist on government action to ban bulk exports
of water, exclude water services from international trade agreements, ensure high quality
standards of drinking water for all and guarantee that water utilities remain public, rather than
private entities.”

40 2011
5. Indigenous People
(Quotes from Native voices in Canada.)

“Anishinabe people think of rivers, especially the underground rivers, as the veins of Mother
earth carrying her life-blood to all her children. Many of our elders are deeply concerned that
her life-blood is bring polluted, contaminated and depleted willfully, thoughtlessly, and
extensively by people of our times. These elders…recognize the urgency of transformation of
consciousness and human behaviour toward water, the lifeblood and the birthright of every
being in the web of life on Mother Earth.”
Priscilla Solomon, Anishinabeque and Sister of St. Joseph, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

“We know that by listening to the songs of the Water, all creation will continue to breathe.
Our knowledge, laws and ways of life teach us to be responsible at all times in caring for this
sacred gift that connects all life. In ceremony and as time comes, the Water sings. Her songs
begin in the tiniest of streams, transform to flowing rivers, travel to majestic oceans and
thundering clouds, and back to Earth to begin again.”
Indigenous Declaration on Water, Penticton, British Columbia, 2001

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Catholic Social Teaching (a sampling)

(A body of teaching on economic, political, social and cultural issues developed by the Catholic
Church, http://www.osjspm.org/cst/themes.htm)

Option for the Poor

The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the
most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public
policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor.

Global Solidarity and Development

We are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic
and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development
must be full human development.

2011 41
Activity Four: Walking for Water
Objective: To understand global disparity and the unfair division of the world’s resources.
Time: 30 minutes
Number of People: 8-40

Materials:
• One token for each player (pieces of construction paper in four different
colours totalling the number of participants).
• Chairs arranged in a circle.
• Future cards (can be constructed from scenarios included in activity).

Preparation:
• Cut out pieces of coloured construction paper.
• Copy and cut out Future Cards.
• Choose 2 volunteers to assist in the game.

How to Play:
PART ONE
Hand each player a coloured token and invite the students to take a seat. Instruct the
participants that this token and their chair represents their livelihood. Throughout the activity,
their goal is to preserve their livelihood, in order that they might survive to care for themselves
and their families.

THE GAME THEN GOES AS FOLLOWS:

At the beginning of each round, the leader calls out a colour. Those players who have a token of
that colour must get up, run across the circle and find an empty chair. While they are running,
however, 2 volunteers (representing multi-national corporations and private water companies)
from outside the circle, try to remove empty chairs from the circle. If they succeed in removing
one or two chairs, the individuals left without a livelihood must go to the leader to discover
their future by picking a ‘Future Card’. The leader reads out the card and then one of two things
will happen – either the player will get another chance and can regain their seat or they must
start “walking for water”. If the latter fate awaits them, then these players must give up their
token to the leader and start walking around the inside of the circle while the rounds continue.

The game continues (with more and more difficulty due to the increasing number of walkers)
until all the cards have been read out.
Note: If more than one player is left without a chair in a particular round, only one player should choose a Future
Card which will apply to them all.

PART TWO
Debrief the game with the following questions
1. What was it like walking for water during the rounds?
2. When was it the most challenging to maintain your livelihood?

42 2011
 3. What were some of the reasons that people do not have access, or lose to clean water?
4. Why did some people get a second chance?
5. What did we learn about how water privatization impacts communities?
Source: This adaptation of the ‘land game’ was developed by Lisa-Ann Bilinsky, Chaplain, Fr. Leo Austin CHS.
FUTURE CARDS: WALKING FOR WATER
You are a poor worker in Ghana. Water in your community
has just been privatized and water prices have increased by
95%. You make only $1.35/day and can no longer afford to
pay the $0.80/day for the water supply. Start walking your
six hours for water.
You are a citizen of Cochabamba, Bolivia. After water
privatization in your community, prices increased by up to
400%. Your friends and family were very upset and started a
peaceful protest. One of the government police got scared
and shot and killed your 18 year old brother. Your family is no
longer the same. Start walking.
You were an employee of the city’s water department in
Manila, Philippines. After a private company took over the
water services, you were one of the 40% of employees that
lost their jobs. Start walking the streets looking for more
work.
You are a citizen of Plachimada, Kerala, India. Coca-Cola sets
up a bottling water plant in your community and you have
hope of a job. However, the plant diminishes the quality of
your well water. Your family is getting sick and you now have
to go 3 km each day to get clean water. Start walking.
You are a citizen of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Water privatization is
threatened in your community, but with the hard work of
people in your area, you are able to create a community-
based water management programme that is both
democratically-run and profitable. You may return to your
seat.
You’ve been promoted to CEO of a major water company.
Because of water privatization in many countries, your salary
has just increased 780%. You may return to your seat.
You are a poor mother of six children in Ghana. Because of
water privatization you can afford only dirty, untreated
water. Your children get sick from water-borne diseases like
dysentery. Start walking to the health clinic.
You are a citizen of South Africa. You belong to one of the 10
million households that had their water services disconnected
because you couldn’t afford to pay. Start walking your six
hours for water.
You are one of 250 000 people who contracted the deadly
water-borne disease cholera after water privatization in your
home country of South Africa. You still need water, but
because of your illness, you need help to get it. Choose two
others sitting down and the three of you start walking your
six hours to get water.
As a citizen of Cochabamba, Bolivia, you used to collect
rainwater for your washing and cleaning. Once the private
corporation Bechtel took over your water system – collecting
of rainwater became illegal. You can’t afford the privatized
water. Start walking your six hours for water.
You are a citizen of Rajasthan, India. The land in your
community is very dry and rains often run-off without
nourishing your water supply. With the help of CARITAS,
India, your community creates dams that collect rainwater
which fills the soil and your wells. You may return to your
seat.
You are a government official in Indonesia. Your country is
highly in debt and the World Bank is telling you that the only
way to get loans is to make water a commodity. You know
this will be hard on your citizens but you have little choice.
You privatize the water and receive lots of opposition. Life
isn’t easy – start walking.
2011 43
Activity Five: Journey of Bottled Water
Objective: Participants learn about the journey of bottled water, from source to store, and its
contribution to the water crisis. Participants discuss how active global citizenship can make
possible clean safe water available for everyone.
Time: 30 minutes
Number of People: groups of 6 or 12 participants

Materials:
• One ball of yarn/string for every group
• Story of ‘Journey of Water in a Bottle’
• Water Journey cards

Preparation: Copy and cut out Water Journey labels for each group.

Outline
• Gather participants into groups of 12 to form a circle. In small groups participants can take
on more than one role. In larger groups, have more than one circle going at the same time.
• Each circle receives a ball of yarn, and each participant randomly selects one of the 12
Water Journey cards.
• Each Water Journey card indicates a step in the journey of bottled water. For this activity
each person will represent one step, for example: the plastic bottling factory.
• After the roles are picked, explain that we are about to explore the trip water takes from
source to store in the story ‘Journey of Bottled Water’ that will be read aloud.
• As the story is told you will be passing the ball of yarn to the person representing the next
step in the journey. Hold onto the yarn before you pass it along.
• Everyone who has a Water Journey Card will represents a stop along the voyage. This
continues until the ball of yarn has been passed to all 12 people representing different parts
of the journey.
• Close the game with debrief questions to assist in generating discussion on bottled water
and access to water, as well as the role active global citizen ship plays in making safe clean
water accessible for all.

JOURNEY OF BOTTLED WATER

1. Imagine a water source, in any part of the world, where you can see water flowing. It might
be a stream or a river, a well or a tap. However you imagine it, this is where the journey
begins; at the source.

The journey begins with the WATER SOURCE.

2. This water source has recently been bought up by a multi-national bottled water company,
like Coca-cola or Pepsi. What that really means is the land has been bought where the lake
or the spring exists. Now the water will start being removed, for this water will be used for

44 2011
 the manufacturing and sale of bottled water. The bottled water company has proudly
said they plan to make big profits off the sale of bottled water: “From now on, tap
water should be used just for washing clothes and taking showers”. With the bottled
water company purchasing the land, the local people have lost access to their water
source.

The journey from the water source has made its way into the hands of the MULTI-
NATIONAL COMPANY.

3. Once the multi-national bottled water company has hauled the water out from the
source, the water is funnelled into a large truck, powered by fuel to be shipped to its
next destination, where it will undergo transferring and bottling. This part of the
journey is long, as it means the truck now travels many miles across countries and in
lots of cases also by container shipping across oceans, by TRUCK and SHIP TRANSPORT.

The journey now goes to the TRUCK and SHIP TRANSPORT.

4. The truck travels to its next destination - the factory where they produce plastic
bottles. Before arriving at the factory, preparations include the mining and refining of
oil to make the plastic bottles. Each year, the amount of plastic water bottles used in
the U.S. takes enough oil and energy to fuel 1 million cars. Along with many other
chemicals used in manufacturing the bottles, making the polyethylene plastics releases
toxins into the air. All this goes towards the production of plastic bottles used to
contain the water extracted from the water source.

The journey moves on to MAKING THE PLASTIC BOTTLES.

5. Upon arrival to the bottled water factory, the water is channelled through a filtration
process to be bottled. That means the factory requires an uninterrupted supply of
electricity, something the local utility structure cannot always support. So the factory
often supplies its own electricity, with three big generators running on diesel fuel.
Now the prices are adding up. How much does it cost for the actual water? It costs
$0.13 for 3,000,000 litres of water. Not so much, but let’s get back to the bottle
process. This part of the journey all takes place onsite at the factory, where the water
is hooked up to be poured into plastic bottles.

The journey must now go into WATER IN PLASTIC BOTTLES.

6. After the plastic bottles are filled with water, they are loaded onto another truck and
travel from the bottled water factory by sea or train and truck to be shipped to their
next destination. Travelling from the bottled water factory, the outside temperatures
en route range from hot to cold as the water arrives at its next destination. The water
in a bottle is then unloaded onto wooden pallets and transported into a warehouse
where they will sit until they are moved to their next destination. They may sit there
for a while, years even.

The journey of water now moves on to the BOTTLED WATER WAREHOUSE.

2011 45
 7. An order has come through to the warehouse from a convenience store, so the water now
goes back onto another diesel-fuelled truck travelling from the warehouse to be sold.

The journey now goes from WAREHOUSE TO STORE.

8. After travelling by truck, the water in a bottle arrives at its next destination where it gets
moved onto the shelves for sale for about $1.50-$4.00. Oops, there is also marketing that
takes place in the journey. $0.30 from the cost of bottled water is spent on marketing –
magazines, billboards, and celebrity endorsements. At $1.50-$4.00 per bottle, that’s a huge
increase from the original cost of water at $0.13 for 3,000,000 litres.

The journey passes on to the LOCAL STORE.

9. At the local store, the bottled water is waiting for customers. People like you and me,
customers, are wondering: does it taste better? Does it looks good, it’s convenient?
Someone enters the local store that pulls $2.50 from their pocket and gives it to the store
owner. This part of the journey is probably the shortest of them all, where that water in the
bottle has travelled such a great distance, but is now consumed within seconds, by the
consumer.

The journey goes continues on to the CONSUMER.

10. After the consumer purchases and drinks the water in a bottle, they discard the plastic
bottle. If this consumer threw the plastic bottle into the garbage can, it would end up like
80% of all the plastic bottles that end up in landfills, or in an incinerator where they are
burned and release toxins into the air. Alternatively if the consumer put the plastic bottle
into the recycling bin it may be down cycled into something from the dollar store (turning it
into lower quality products that would be chucked later on) or shipped to another country,
like India, only to end up in a mountain of plastic bottles just outside Madras, India.

The journey continues on to end up DOWN-CYCLED or in INDIA.

11. In either case, this part of the journey requires transportation, to ship the plastic bottle
from where the consumer discarded of it to the next destination; in this case garbage or
India. Once the plastic bottle has travelled hundreds of miles it arrives in this place, and
finds itself between a river and a land fill site where it could sit for 1,000 years. This part of
the journey can be long or short; the final destination can take on many paths from here,
but for now it sits, and it sits, and it sits.

The journey arrives in the LANDFILL.

12. As the bottle sits between the rivers, it is spotted by a child nearby, who is one of the 36% of
city dwellers living on less than $1.25 a day. Having spent yesterday’s earnings on water for
their family, that came from another water company, they contemplate picking up the
empty plastic bottle and filling it with water from the river. At this final part of the journey,
the plastic bottle is at a cross roads of its own cause and effect, leading the child to decide
between purchasing bottled water using their whole day’s income, or drinking water from
the river near the land fill, risking exposure to ‘water borne diseases’.

46 2011
 The journey follows on to WATER-BORNE DISEASES.

13. And as other plastic bottles remain in the landfill site, through time (A LONG TIME) the
plastic toxins break down and pollute the earth and the surrounding ecosystems and water
sources, like the one from where this journey began.

The journey finds its way back to the WATER SOURCE, where the beginning and the end of the
journey of water meet.

ASK PARTICIPANTS TO STEP BACK SO THE WEB IS TAUT.

Leader: “What happens if we do not want to support this system? Can we stop it? Can we
change it?”
“What if we remove the consumer from the web? CONSUMER, can you let go of the string.
What if we protect the water source? WATER SOURCE, can you let go of the yarn. What
happens?”

DEBRIEF AND NEXT STEPS

This activity is an excellent transition into our Action section and the Development and Peace campaign.
The game demonstrates one of the many reasons why we want to create bottled water free zones in our
school, parishes and communities.

“In the U.S. and Canada, for the most part, we have strong, safe public water systems. But in much of the
world, this is not the case. This doesn’t mean that in these countries bottled water is the solution, because
it’s not. It means we need ever-increasing efforts to understand the root causes of the world’s drinking
water crisis, and efforts to beat the crisis that are based in human rights, care for the environment, and the
common good”.

QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS:
What water source did you imagine at the beginning of the story?
Where along the journey can the negative aspects be prevented and/or avoided?
How bottled water is contributing to the water crises?
How can we personally make a difference in the journey of bottled water?
Ask participants if they know about the different water sources that bottled water companies are using (ex.
Canadian springs, filtered Toronto tap water). Does bottled water all come from pristine glaciers? (A third
of all bottled water in North America actually comes from the tap, like Dasani.
Remind participants that when we understand the journey of water in a bottle and the bottled water
industry, we can start to turn problems into solutions!
Share success stories of how change is happening: the sales of bottled water are going down in North
America, and people are signing the Development and Peace pledge and saying no to the privatization of
water, and creating bottled water free zones in their lives.

2011 47
 WATER JOURNEY CARDS

WATER SOURCE MULTI-NATIONAL TRUCK AND SHIP

COMPANY TRANSPORT

MAKING THE WATER INTO BOTTLED WATER

PLASTIC BOTTLES PLASTIC BOTTLES WAREHOUSE

TRUCK TO STORE LOCAL STORE CONSUMER

DOWN-CYCLED LAND FILL SITE BY WATER-BORNE DISEASES

OR IN INDIA THE RIVER

48 2011
 2.3 re f le c t ion
and rest

*
More reflection and rest excercises are available online at :
http://youth.devp.org/thinkfast
The Poverty of H20 – Open up the struggle to obtain water
Water and Blood: A prayerful reflection on the life of a water Creating a sacred space:
activist, Victor Hugo Daza Before starting THINKfast
God Has Chosen Me– Introspection in light of two scripture activities, begin with an
passages opening liturgy. Ask
participants to “disconnect”
themselves from any
electronic devices (i-pods, cell

Opening Liturgy - Letting Go phones, etc.) they have

brought with them. Make this
Objective: To begin the THINKfast with a reflection from as part of the fast!
Scripture and an awareness that God’s call has brought us
together this day to see, reflect and prepare to act in loving solidarity.
Time: 1 hour

Materials:
• 4 candles
• Small table, set up with 4 candles & matches
• Bibles for scripture readings and printed prayers for each Reader
• Slips of blank pieces of paper and pens (one per participant)
• A copy of ‘Prayer on Fasting and Feasting’ for each participant
• Instrumental music and cd player
• On the table, a large steel bowl (with a little water) and/or pottery bowl to hold pieces of
paper brought up by the participants

Preparation:
• Ask 4 volunteers to be Readers and provide them with a copy of their reading.
• Ask each volunteer to light a candle at the table in the centre before they start reading.

2011 49
 • Prepare pieces of paper ahead of time and give each participant one, with a pen, as they
enter the prayer space and ask them to write their name on it. Tell the participants to keep
their papers and pens until they are asked for them later in the liturgy.
• Once participants have arrived into the prayer space, begin…
• Play instrumental music quietly. You can use gentle music and low lighting to develop a
reflective mood.

Leader: We are here together for many reasons. Let us take a moment to centre ourselves and
remind ourselves why we are here – to fast and to reflect, to learn and to enjoy our time
with each other, to have fun and to commit ourselves to building a new world.
Ask them to picture the things they have given up to be here for this THINKfast, and to think of the
one thing (homework, job, friend, conflict) that they are really aware of and need to let go so that
they can be fully present to this experience.

Reader 1: (Lights candle) A reading from Isaiah 43: 1-2; 4-8

Quiet moment of reflection on the reading (1 minute).

Reader 1: You have called us, O Lord, and we are here, in this space made holy by our desire to have
You in our midst, guiding us with Your light and love through this THINKfast.

Leader: You are invited to write down, on your slip of paper, the things they are letting go of while
you are participating in this THINKfast.
Quiet moment of reflection for each participant to contemplate what they are giving up (2 minutes).

Leader: Say your name and then place your paper into the bowl. (If permitted: have each
participant place their slip of paper into the candle flame to be burned and placed/dropped into the
steel bowl with water, ensuring embers from paper are completely contained in the bowl. This
symbolizes each participant’s offering to God.)

Leader: Jesus invites us to let go of anything that stands between us and our relationship with Him.
(Say after everyone has placed their slips of paper into bowl.)

Reader 2: (Lights candle) A reading from Galatians 5:13-14 and Matthew 25:31-40
Quiet moment of reflection on the reading (1 minute).

Reader 2: We are here in solidarity with our sisters and brothers across the globe, especially with
those who hunger and thirst for food and drink and for justice and peace.

Leader: Please join with me in solidarity, both in spirit and in prayer, with our brothers and sisters
across the globe by standing up and holding hands to pray together the “Our Father”. Let us begin
with a sign of our faith…

Leader: Let’s take a minute to reflect on the important line ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven’. Whose will be done? Let’s think of this while listening to the next reading from Mark.

50 2011
Reader 3: (Lights candle) A reading from Mark 10:17-22.
Quiet moment of reflection on the reading (1 minute).

Reader 3: We are here to listen and to learn, to reflect and to pray, to share and to shape a new
way of seeing God’s Creation, and new ways of responding to the needs of all God’s children, the
global human family.

Leader: Let’s place ourselves in the shoes of the man who ran up to Jesus in the reading from Mark.
What would you do if you were this man and heard Jesus’ words - “Go, sell everything you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Leader: Jesus has asked us to follow Him and invites us to be His hands and feet, in solidarity with
the poor, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. As the body of Christ in the world, we
are not alone, because God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit three in one, are with us,
just as with the prophets and people of old.

Reader 4: (Lights candle) A reading from Isaiah 44: 1-5.

Quiet moment of reflection on the reading (1 minute).

Reader 4: Creator God, you have blessed us with life and health and the gifts of your Creation. Your
generous love calls us to be generous in turn, with our time, our talents and gifts, and our loving
compassion for a world in need.

Leader: Let us commit ourselves, in prayer, to our THINKfast weekend. Christ has come to bring
peace anchored in justice and genuine love, to offer us renewed vision of transformed peoples and
communities. Let us read together:

Prayer on Fasting and Feasting

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on difference; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism

Fast from worry; feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressure; feast on unceasing prayers.

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 Fast from hostility; feast on non- resistance.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from laziness; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that sustains life.
For “Your Father who sees the good you do in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4)

from We Dare to Say: Praying for Justice and Peace, eds. Sylvia Skrepichuk and Michel Coté, Novalis.

Reflection One: Drinking Mindfully

Objective: This is a meditation designed to encourage us to be mindful of the value and wonders
of water, a unique fluid without which no life could exist.
Time: 45 minutes

Materials Needed:
• One clear, clean glass pitcher of cold water with enough water for each participant
• Clear, clean glass cup for each participant
• Water, plants, flowers, diving mask, toothbrush, soap or any other water related item, to set
up as a focal point.

Procedure: The number of participants should be small enough to maintain a meditative

atmosphere. Select one or two volunteers to assist with the meditation. Some groups may need to
be divided and led in separate sessions. Ideally, carry this out in a quiet space conducive to a sense
of community and prayerfulness.

BEGIN REFLECTION
Leader: The Anishinabe people think of rivers, especially underground rivers, as the veins of Mother
Earth carrying her lifeblood to all her children. Many of their elders are deeply concerned that her
lifeblood is being polluted, contaminated and depleted willfully, thoughtlessly, and extensively by
people of our times. We need to develop a new consciousness about water. We need to understand
that it is the lifeblood and the birthright of every human being. (Source: Priscilla Solomon, CCODP
Sacred Waters)

52 2011
 We will now share a meditation on water. I ask each of you to silently reflect on the words you will
hear and the water you will hold.

When the group is quiet, the volunteer pours water into each of the glasses (a full glass is not
necessary) and passes them around the group. Encourage students to remain silent and follow the
instructions given.

Leader: Take a sip of the water in your glass and focus on how it feels as it enters your mouth and as
you swallow. (Pause)

1. The hydrogen that makes up your water existed at the beginning of the universe.
It is older than the earth itself. Joined by oxygen, water now covers three quarters of our planet. It
is frozen in polar icecaps, fills ocean and lake basins, and flows in rivers and streams. This separates
our home from all other bodies in our solar system. Water is our planet’s lifeblood.

Take another sip and reflect on our blue planet. (Pause)

2. The first living cell, earth’s first life, swam in primordial waters just as each of us swam in the waters
of our mothers’ wombs. The salty taste of our blood reminds us of the saline seas. The mass of our
bodies, like the earth, is three quarters water. Just as water travels the earth, the water in our
bodies moves from cell to cell, carrying necessary nutrients and removing wastes. One litre of water
a day escapes from our breath and sweat, and is released into the atmosphere.

Take another sip and reflect on the water in your body. (Pause)

3. Water in the atmosphere collects in floating masses that decorate our skies. These clouds
constantly change and eventually drop rain on the earth. Some of the water is absorbed by roots,
lifted to leaves and released again to continue the cycle. Some flows on the surface of the land
while some sinks deep into the ground. Water in motion, passing through living things, traveling
throughout the planet.

Take another sip and reflect on the miracle of water. (Pause)

4. Water is essential to life. Imagine yourself in the following scenario. You wake up on a bright sunny
morning and go into the bathroom to find the toilet bowl is as dry as a chip bowl. You turn on the
tap but nothing happens. No water. You check every tap, indoors and out. You look in the fridge and
every cupboard. No bottled water either. You see the morning paper on the kitchen table and
quickly read the headline news. There has been a major accident in your town. A state of
emergency has been declared. Roads are closed. At the bottom of the page is a map showing the
locations of emergency water stations. Your heart sinks as you realize you and our family will have
to walk over two kilometres for water.

Water has suddenly become a precious commodity. You can no longer take it for granted. (Leave a
brief pause between questions) How will your life be affected? Who will collect the water? How
often will you have to go for water? What will you no longer be able to do?

Take another sip and reflect on how you have taken water for granted. (Pause)

2011 53
5. In the majority of the world, having enough water to survive is a constant worry. Women and
children are responsible for getting the household water. This can take as much as six hours a day -
leaving little time for learning, earning money or caring for one’s family. As well, the weight of water
can cause serious health problems.

Imagine you have just walked 6 hours barefoot in the hot sun to fetch the water in your
glass and take another sip. (Pause)

6. Water brings life, but it can also bring death. Typhoid, cholera, diarrhea. As you drink this water, be
assured it is cleaner than the water available to our sisters and brothers in the majority world.

Take a sip and be grateful for clean water. (Pause)

7. Water gives many gifts. We are relaxed and comforted by a warm bath, refreshed by a summer
swim and invigorated by an ocean breeze. Our skates and skis, toboggans and snowboards, travel
over water transformed by cold. Our souls are fed by the magnificence of a waterfall, the serenity of
a lakeside sunset, the companionship of a gurgling stream.

Take another sip and reflect on the beauty of water. (Pause)

8. We call water ‘holy’. It is sacred to indigenous peoples; to Christians, Jews and Muslims, Buddhists
and Hindus, to peoples of all faiths. Creation myths begin with water. Water gives life. In Baptism,
water is poured on our heads and we are reborn of water and the spirit.

Water in the veins of the earth, water in the veins of our bodies.
Water that supported the feet of Jesus as He walked on the sea.
Without water there is no life.

Take a sip and reflect on the sacredness of water. (Pause)

The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, ends with these words:
“And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes
take the water of life as a gift.” Revelation 22:17

As you finish your glass, be mindful of all that we have reflected on. Think of those who have no
access to water.

“Each of us has a role to play in shaping the creation story of the future.” (Vandana Shiva).

What will our individual and collective role be in shaping a future where all may share the waters of
life as a gift?

You may wish to end with a prayer, a song, or a moment of silence, followed by a time for
participants to express their thoughts or feelings on the meditation.

Written by Marika Ince, CCODP member, Burlington.

54 2011
* JOURNALING
Objective: To reflect on the day and what it meant personally to be attending this THINKfast.
Materials: Personal journals and pens

Throughout history, people have prayed and fasted to draw attention to problems of injustice
(Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day) or to concentrate their thoughts and
actions on a problem (as Jesus fasted during important moments in his life).

Journaling can help gather and focus your own personal thoughts. Plan journaling as the last
activity of the day, before refreshments, as some participants will be finished journaling in a few
minutes, while others will take longer.

Thoughts on Fasting:
Suggested Reflection questions. Write them on flipchart and put up on the wall.
• Why am I fasting?
• Have my reasons increased/changed since I started the fast?
• What have I learned since the fast began?
• What one new ides would I most like to remember after the fast?
• What am I committed to doing about the issues that I am learning about?

After individuals have a chance to journal, you can invite participants to share their thoughts.
Small groups might allow for more sharing.

Bring this time to an end with a closing ritual - a reading, prayer, song or story.

Reflection Two: I THIRST

Objective: A small group and personal reflection time exploring the roots of fasting, Jesus’
ministry and our own thirst for social justice.
Time: 1 Hour

Materials:
• Bible • Copies of prayer ‘I Cannot Pray’
• Crucifix • (optional) background music during discussion
• Flip chart

Procedure:
• Seat everyone within sight of a portable crucifix. Choose a couple of participants to
volunteer in the prayer service. Questions asked by the leader are meant to simply get
participants thinking and are to be answered in the silence of their hearts.
• For those questions that are italicized, ask participants to respond individually before the

2011 55
 group by passing the crucifix from one person to the next. Ask the youth leader(s) to
encourage peers to share a part of themselves at this point in the THINKFast experience.
• Temptations are to be discussed in pairs. These questions may be written down for this
portion.

BEGIN REFLECTION
Leader or a volunteer reads John 19:23-30.

The gospel of John provides us with a story of Jesus’ life in symbolic language. Nearing his death the
gospel tells us that Jesus spoke these words: “I thirst”.
What did he mean by this?

Biblical theologians have discussed what this may have meant, that what Jesus meant by “thirst”
went beyond his physical needs.
Do you agree?

Perhaps John’s Gospel points us all to a greater reality that Jesus wished to be realized, namely, that
of the reign of God on earth. This reign is characterized by solidarity, a perspective that all of us are
interconnected in a great mosaic or tapestry, all dependent on one another.

Take a moment to think about what Jesus meant by this statement from the cross, “I Thirst.”
What do you think He was thirsting for?
Was He thirsting for justice? Was He thirsting for peace?
Was it a thirst for the recognition of each and every person’s dignity?
Was it a thirst for forgiveness to be a transformational experience of our lives?
Perhaps he desired followers to set the world ablaze with unconditional love?
Perhaps he wanted future generations to live in equality?

Read aloud, or write down the following questions to be answered individually in the group:
When you hear these words from the mouth of Jesus “I thirst,” what does that statement mean to
you, given what you know about His life and mission?
What do you think Jesus desires from YOU as part of His “thirst” in the hours of this fast we share
together?

Jesus fasted for a long time prior to beginning his public ministry as a spiritual leader. There in the
desert he struggled with what his life and mission would be about.
Would his life and mission be a self centered one?
Would it be characterized by “might is right,” whereby power is pursued and weakness avoided? Or
was Jesus to seek wealth at the expense of everyone else?

In pairs, participants discuss three of the most prominent temptations that perpetuate the cycles of
poverty, hunger or suffering in the world.
What temptations keep you from being more radical in your faith?
How does the ancient practice of fasting act as a tool to open our eyes to what is real and what is

56 2011
 false in the world? (If you’ve never fasted before today, use your imagination to answer)What do
YOU “thirst” for or desire for in your own life? For the world you live in?

Let’s continue our holy fast by reciting this prayer together, calling upon God to make the kingdom a
reality in our lives and in our world.

All: Pray the prayer ‘I Cannot Pray’

Fasting is a spiritual practice that has been used for centuries by people representing many different
religious traditions. It’s been used as a means of penance, a means of protest, a means of getting a
clear mind, a means of growing closer to God. Fasting is part of our Catholic tradition.

Ask the group to brainstorm a list of the benefits of fasting. Be sure to include the following:

1. Fasting is part of our Catholic Tradition.

2. Fasting helps us to walk in another’s shoes and to experience compassion.
3. Fasting helps us to understand that there is more to life than food.
4. Fasting can ‘clear’ our heads and help us to pray better.
5. Fasting helps us to understand that there is a difference between what we need and what we think
we want.
6. Fasting and prayer can help us when we have decisions to make.
7. Jesus fasted—He’s our role model!

There are so many things in life that we take for granted - food, good health, the heat in our homes,
everything that makes our lives comfortable. We don’t notice these things until we have to do
without them. Fasting helps us to grow closer to the poor by helping us to feel a little of the hunger
pain they experience every day.

I Cannot Pray
I cannot say, “OUR”, if I have no room in my life for others and their needs.
I cannot say, “FATHER”, if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily living.
I cannot say, “WHO ART IN HEAVEN”, if all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot say, “HALLOWED BE THY NAME”, if I am not striving for God’s help to be holy.
I cannot say, “THY KINGDOM COME”, if I am unwilling to accept God’s rule in my life.
I cannot say, “THY WILL BE DONE”, if I am unwilling or resentful of having God’s will in my life.
I cannot say, “ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN”, unless I am truly ready to give myself to His
service here and now.
I cannot say, “GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”, unless I am truly ready to give myself in
hard effort for it, or if I ignore the needs of others.
I cannot say, “FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST
US”, if I continue to harbour a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say, “LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION”, if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation
where I am likely to be tempted.

2011 57
 I cannot say, “DELIVER US FROM EVIL”, if I am not prepared to fight with my life and my prayer.
I cannot say, “THINE IS THE KINGDOM”, if I do not give the kind of disciplined obedience of a
loyal subject.
I cannot say, “THINE IS THE POWER”, if I am seeking power for myself and my own glory first.
I cannot say, “FOREVER”, if I am too anxious about each day’s events.
I cannot say, “AMEN”, unless I can honestly say, no matter what it may cost, this is my prayer.

-author unknown

Reflection Three: Exploring Solidarity

Objective: Through this reflection, participants will:
• Think more deeply about the characteristics of solidarity.
• Form and articulate personal responses to the concept of solidarity through journaling.
• Share and discuss the meaning of solidarity with other participants.
• Connect solidarity with the themes of the privatization of water and the water crisis.
Time: 45 minutes

Materials Needed:
• Copy of the ‘Exploring Solidarity’ handout for each participant.
• Pens/pencils

Procedure:
• The term “solidarity” is used throughout Catholic social teaching and in the outreach work
of the Church, but oftentimes, Catholics do not fully understand its meaning. Consider using
this reflection early in the THINKfast to provide grounding in the meaning of solidarity.
• Participants will read four passages on solidarity and care for God’s creation and explore the
different aspects of solidarity through journaling.
• Distribute an ‘Exploring Solidarity’ handout to each participant. Invite them to read each
passage and then spend time responding to the questions that follow each passage. They
can spend their time on those passages and questions that interest them the most. Allow
participants to journal for about 30 minutes.

Debrief
Ask participants to come back to the larger group. Invite them to share the questions they
explored and what they discovered about solidarity through this reflection. End the reflection
by asking why solidarity is so important when we look at global poverty and water crisis issues,
including the role we play in people’s access to water.

58 2011
 Exploring Solidarity Handout # 1
“Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people,
both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the
common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible
for all.” Pope John Paul II, On Social Concerns, #38

Some things to consider and journal on (you are not limited to these questions, nor required to answer all):
Did you have a firm idea of what solidarity was before you read this quote?
How does John Paul’s definition of solidarity help you understand what this concept means?
Why does he include the concept that one has to “persevere” in one’s determination?
What does this mean in your own life?
What does taking on responsibility for others mean to you?
How can you foresee it playing out in your life as you move through different stages (e.g., child, teenager,
student, professional, marriage and family)?

Exploring Solidarity Handout # 2

“In a world that tends to give more and more incentives to individualism, the first service of people of faith
is attention to neighbors, in solidarity and sharing.”
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, June 15, 2008

Some things to consider and journal on (you are not limited to these questions, nor required to answer all):
In what ways does our culture encourage individual accomplishments?
In what ways does our culture encourage common goals?
How has this influenced your life?
Do you recognize a tension within yourself between individualism and the call to solidarity?
Why is it important to give “attention” to others?

Exploring Solidarity Handout # 3

“We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefitted from their work. We have obligations
towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us to enlarge the
human family. The reality of human solidarity, which is a benefit for us, also imposes a duty for future
generations.” Pope Paul VI, On the Development of Peoples, #17, 1967

Some things to consider and journal on (you are not limited to these questions, nor required to answer all):
In what ways have you directly benefitted from the generations that have come before, in terms of both
the generations of our global family and of your individual family?
What do you owe future generations, in general, and in terms of access to water?
What do you owe future generations in terms of the environment?

2011 59
 Exploring Solidarity Handout # 4
Creative Solidarity
Your creative love, O God, brought forth our world,
Once a garden where humans
Could taste and see the goodness of the earth.
But our eyes have been blinded
to the beauty of Creation,
to the knowledge that it is Gift,
one given so that all humans may live and flourish.
Our indifference changes the world;
Even mighty glaciers weep now.
Our disregard for our sisters and brothers
Threatens the very skies above us.
Our passivity begins to choke us, and
The excess of our lifestyles blot out the sun.
Call us to renewal, to stewardship;
Call us to solidarity to the earth and all its creatures.
Give us new vision to see the fragile beauty that remains to us;
Give us new spiritual energy to become active
In loving the world through our daily life;
Give us new voices to speak out for environmental solidarity.
Bless us again with the gift
Of being a joyful community;
Bless us with a love of your Creation
And we will glimpse your Eden once again. J. M. Deren

This poem presents images of what the world was created to be: Psalm 34 calls people of faith
to “taste and see” that the Lord, and all that he has made, is good. The poem also reflects on
what is happening to God’s creation. Consider some of the following questions:

• How is the physical world tied to God’s desire that we are nourished in body and in spirit?
• Are there things that keep you from seeing and tasting the richness of the natural world?
• Are there times you become “indifferent” to God’s Creation?
• How does solidarity help us gain new perspectives on the earth and its people and offer us a
new vision of what the world can be?
• How do we “love the world” in our daily life?
• How can the activity of being a loving and joyful community give us “new voices” so we can
help with the healing of the earth and the feeding of its entire people?

Adapted from ©2010 Catholic Relief Services.

60 2011
Closing Liturgy – Commissioning Service
Objective: To close the THINKfast time and to commission students to bring their experiences,
reflections and prayers into their daily life.
Time: 1 hour

Materials:
• 4 candles and matches
• Small table
• Instrumental music and cd player
• Large bowl or box for prayer petitions
• Pens
• Bibles and copies of readings for Readers
• One copy per participant :
o One sheet with ‘Our Deepest Fear’ on side 1 and ‘Teach Us and Show Us the
Way’ on side 2
o Water drop cut-out (for prayer petitions)

Preparation:
• Ask 5 volunteers to be Readers for the bible verses. Designate the other three as readers 1,
2, and 3 of the Litany.
• Ask 4 volunteers to light the candles after the reading of ‘Our Deepest Fear’.
• Prepare copies of water drop cut-out.
• Distribute copies of prayers to all assembled.

Leader: As we come to the end of our time together, let us take a moment to centre ourselves and
reflect on our time together during this year’s THINKfast. Invite participants to ponder these
questions in silence, or discuss as a group.
What did you like the most? What did you like least?
Call to mind what you offered up at the beginning of the THINKfast, what you sacrificed to
be here.
Recall the many things that people in the global south sacrifice each day.
What really shocked you?
What energized you and inspired you to make a difference?

Leader: Through this THINKfast experience and our commitment to continue to live in solidarity, we
remain hopeful and faithful to our brothers and sisters around the globe who hunger and thirst for
food and drink, AND for justice and peace.

Let us pray for Water for All: let just flow! by saying together the ‘Our Father’ just as we did at the
beginning of the fast, joining in solidarity and in prayer with brothers and sisters around the globe.
Let us stand and hold hands to pray together the “Our Father”, beginning with a sign of our faith.

2011 61
 Leader: Let’s reflect on the important line ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ once again.
Whose will are we saying should be done? Is the God’s will being done in the world? What is the
Father’s will? Field some responses.

God’s will is that we all will share so that there is enough for each person, every day, “our daily
bread”, and to live respectfully in community. Imagine what this would be like on earth!

Leader: I would like you to close your eyes and think of one or two big problems happening in the
world that you learned about during the THINKfast. Think of a problem that you would like to help
change. Imagine; even visualize yourself, making that difference! What can you do? Who can help
you?

What are one or two ways, in your own life, in your own school, you could do something to impact
these problems? Quiet moment of contemplation (1 minute).

Leader: Remember - no problem is too big to solve. Blessed Mother Teresa told us that “We can do
no great things, only small things with great love”. Invite participants to open their eyes.

Distribute and read together ‘Our Deepest Fear’.

Lighting of the candles (call upon the volunteers).

Leader: Share with us a line that you connect with in this prayer (ex. “your playing small does not
serve the world” or “as we let our own light shine”). How does this inspire you? Does it challenge
you? Invite 2-4 participants to share.

Does this relate to our reflections on injustices and our desire to being part of the solutions?
Let us now share our ideas on how, in our own lives, in parishes and at school, we can do something
to impact these problems? Discuss answers and ideas.

PRAYERS OF PETITION
Leader: We are going to have a reading from Scripture followed by our prayer petitions. You can
pray for the global issues and injustices we want to join in changing, and/or anything else you can
think of. Let’s listen to the word of God and learn how our prayers can be answered.

Reader 1: Read Isaiah 58:6-12

Play instrumental music quietly to develop a reflective mood. Distribute water drop prayer petition
cut-outs and pens to participants and invite them to write their prayer petitions on the water drops
to be read out later. Quiet time for writing petitions (3 minutes).

Leader: As we come to the end of our time together, let us pray and reflect on the Prayer of St.
Teresa of Avila, as we give our prayer petitions to God. This prayer reminds us to see as Christ did,
to reflect on the gifts we have been given, and to act with joy and conviction to help bring healing
to all people on earth as it is in heaven. All participants stand.

Ask Reader 2 to read St. Teresa’s prayer. They can stay at the front near the bowl to collect the
petitions.

62 2011
Leader: Each person is invited to come forward and read their petition before placing their water
drop into the bowl. After the petition is read, the response is “Lord, hear our prayer”.

Students to bring forth their prayer petitions.

Leader: Heavenly Father, bless us as we invite others to join us on our journey of solidarity so that
together we may foster a world without poverty, hunger or fear. That your will may be done on
earth as it is in heaven.

3 Readers for the litany come forward to lead the prayer: Teach Us and Show Us the Way.

Leader: We have been blessed by the call to see, reflect and act. God has called you by name, and
his work is now our work. During our THINKfast we each pledged to support free clean and safe
access to water for all.

Leader: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord with your whole being. Go in solidarity and in joy,
for you are the chosen and the blessed. God has called you by name and you are his beloved.

All: Amen.

Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body now but ours, no hands, no feet on earth but ours. We possess the eyes
through which He looks with compassion on this world. We possess the feet with which he
walks to do good. Ours are the hands with which He blesses all the world. Ours are the hands,
the feet, the eyes of Christ. We are his body. May we use the gift of our bodies to Live Christ in
the world so all people know his healing touch. Amen.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

2011 63
 And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson, used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech in South Africa.

Teach Us and Show Us the Way

Voice One: We call upon You, God of earth and sky, God of the waters that flow in our rivers and
streams, and that fall upon our gardens and fields
All: Teach us and show us the way.

Voice One: We call upon You, God of the land that grows our food, the nurturing soil, the fertile
fields, the abundant seeds and gardens and orchards
All: Teach us and show us the way.

Voice One: We call upon You, God of the forests, with their great trees reaching strongly to the
sky, with earth at their roots and the heavens in their branches
All: Teach us and show us the way.

Voice One: We call upon You, God of the creatures of fields, forests, and seas, the wolves and
deer, the eagle and the dove, the great whales and the dolphin, and all living things
All: Teach us and show us the way.

Voice Two: For the rain and sun and insects to pollinate crops; for farmers who work with nature
and preserve the beauty and diversity of God’s creation
All: We give thanks, O God.

Voice Two: For the soil, rich and precious, home to countless living creatures that provide our food
All: We give thanks, O God.

Voice Three: For wisdom to live in ways that will acknowledge our dependence on the earth for
our daily food and fuel, and for caution in manipulating the building blocks of life, we pray to you:
All: O God, hear our prayer.

Voice Three: For those people who labour on this earth to produce food for themselves and for
the world; for the landless and those whose lands are mired in conflict or degraded by drought; for
the rich and the poor, the hungry and the overfed, we pray to you:
All: O God, hear our prayer.

Voice Two: Send us out into the world, in service to God’s creatures, as disciples of Jesus who
blessed bread and wine at the Last Supper – bread which Earth has given and human hands have
made, and wine, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. We are your hands and feet.
All: God, send forth your Spirit. Amen
Adapted from prayers in We Dare to Say: Praying for Justice and Peace, Novalis

64 2011
Water drop

2011 65
 2.4 IT TIN G
COM M
TO A C TIO N!
All activities in this section are related to our action campaign – Water For All, Let Justice Flow.
Feel free to mix and match activities and don’t forget the best part –signing the pledge!

WATER FOR ALL, LET JUSTICE FLOW

Bottling and selling water creates a culture in which this resource is considered a commodity
available only to those who can afford it.
DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE has been working to make Canadians more aware of the issues
surrounding the control of natural resources in the Global South. This year we are focusing on water
because our partner organizations have been sharing with us the troubling trends in their
communities. Their water sources or public utilities are being bought up by private companies and
are no longer affordable, or they are seeing their water sources increasingly contaminated and
unsafe to drink. This means that for many people, safe drinking water is not part of their reality.
The UN estimates that 884 million people don’t have access to safe drinking water, even though
access to safe water is considered a universal right. With this campaign we want to highlight that
water should never be a commodity (a product) and that all people have the right to have access to
this essential resource.

66 2011
 Why are you asking Canadians to give up bottled water?
By giving up bottled water and using tap water instead, Canadians can show strong support for
water as a publicly-accessible resource that should be available worldwide. Bottled water
represents the privatization of water, where water becomes viewed as a ‘manufactured good’
rather than an essential need that must be publicly available. In Canada, where we are fortunate
enough to have access to clean drinking water, we should not have to use bottled water, which
creates a vast amount of waste and transform water into a consumer product.
By choosing tap water over bottled water when available, Canadians can make a gesture of
solidarity with people in the Global South who are seeing their water sources being placed in the
hands of private interests, who then sell water at a cost that is unreachable for many. We are asking
public institutions, like schools and parishes, to consider eliminating the use of bottled water on
their sites.

CHECK OUT THE GRAPHIC

Materials: Campaign graphic - you can print out the PDF version found on your resource DVD, or
show the picture on a powerpoint screen, or hand out copies of the campaign Action Sheet.

Activity: Divide your participants into

pairs or groups of 3-4. Give each small
group a copy of the campaign
graphic. Ask participants to analyze
the image they see (ignore the
surrounding words if you are using
the Action Sheets). In the small
groups, and using the SEE-JUDGE-ACT
reflection model, discuss the
following questions.
a. Describe what you see: What
is going on in this picture?
(SEE)
b. What does the picture show
us: Who profits? Who suffers?
How do they profit or suffer?
Who benefits? (JUDGE)
c. Now we ask ourselves:
Where do we stand? Who do
we support? (ACT)

Invite the small group to share their

analysis and reflections with the
larger group.

2011 67
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT BOTTLED WATER?
There are a lot of good reasons to give up bottled water. We can talk about the ENVIRONMENTAL,
ECONOMIC, HEALTH and SOCIAL IMPACTS of bottled water.
To get a sense of what your students know about bottled water and this campaign, ask them to
brainstorm a list of the environmental, economic, health and social impacts. Jot down their ideas on
flip chart paper. If they are new to this topic, you can use the 4 fact sheets to present to each other
the truth about bottled water. The fact sheets can be found on your Resource DVD or online.

MULTI-MEDIA
• *new* D&P ANIMATION 5 minute VIDEO
• THE STORY OF BOTTLED WATER 15 min VIDEO
All videos are on your Resource DVD, sent to you upon registering your THINKfast, or found
online at http://youth.devp.org/takeaction

SKITS
Through drama, we can PERFORM a message we wish to share with the public, rather than just
stating the facts. Here are a few plays which you can perform at your parish, in your school, at the
mall, in a class, or even for your principal. It’s a great way to invite people to sign a bottled water
free pledge and/or collect donations during Share Lent.
Skits on your Resource DVD or online at http://youth.devp.org/takeaction

Out of Order: Is our obsession with bottled water out of order, or is it that vending machine?
My Bottled Water?!?: A simple skit to prompt people to give up bottled water and start talking
about the campaign, suitable and adaptable for any group.
The World Bank Muddies the Water in Ghana: Describes a real life experiences that occurred in
Ghana where people could no longer afford to buy water.
Let Justice Rain: A light-hearted comedy covers the serious subject of the privatization of water
which devalues it as a source of life.
Water and Blood: The true stories of Victor and Robinson, 2 stories interwoven, and tragically
real.

PLEDGE CARDS
Read aloud together the campaign pledge form. Sign on as individuals and plan on how you can
create a bottled water free zone in your school or parish.
With the pledge forms, brainstorm how they can be showcased. How will you use them, where can
you post them? Take a picture of you and your pledge card and email them to devpedu@yahoo.ca
so we can post your picture in our flickr album. Check out all our photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/devpedu/sets/

68 2011
ACTION ACTIVITIES
A TAP WATER VS. BOTTLED WATER TASTE TEST
THE IDEA: To show the public that tap water often tastes very similar, the same or even BETTER
than bottled water! Set up a booth/stand in a parish, school, or even on a street! Have cups of
water and have people pick the one they like best, and guess which one is tap water.

WATER TAKE-OVER DAY

THE IDEA: Stage a take-over of the water system to simulate the impact of Water Privatization to
encourage action to stop drinking bottled water and to sign action cards to the Prime Minister.

MARKET BOTTLED AIR

THE IDEA: Sell bottled air to get the attention of the entire school and encourage action to stop
drinking bottled water; inform the rest of the school of the upcoming campaign, but still keep
the element of surprise, with scripts!

URCES
CAMPAIGN RESO D or online at
V
ee d is o n y o ur Resource D
un
Everything yo fast d more.
://yo uth .de vp.org/THINK t, p le d g e sh eet, tabloid an
http on shee
ri nt m a te ri a ls - poster, acti
To order p rm/fall.html alth, econom
ic fact
ev p .o rg /fo n m e ntal, h e
www.d l, enviro action
o n th e is su es – the socia d wa te r fre e campus; more
For more info e for creating
a bottle
o g u id keaction
sheets; a h o w -t
tt p ://y o uth.devp.org/ta
douts. h
ideas and han

2011 69
 2.5 S o l i da ri t y
Cele b ra t i o n
ith a solidarity meal!
tw
Break the fas

*
Consider combining the Solidarity Celebration with the Closing Liturgy. A communal liturgy
and meal is a great way to celebrate all you have done over the 25 hours.
Think about inviting family, friends, school, parish or community representatives,
Development and Peace members/Youth Reps/Animators, and sponsors!

A few things to keep in mind:

• With the focus on Water For All, we encourage all
THINKfasters to work towards a Bottle Water Free
Zone after breaking their fast.
• After abstaining from food for 25 hours, it’s best to
ease back into eating with healthy, simple foods.
• Ask for help to prepare the meal as much as possible
beforehand since participants won`t have the patience
for long cooking sessions.
• Invite a special volunteer to initiate grace before
meals.

Solidarity Meal Ideas!

100-Mile Meal - This is a great time to encourage healthy and local eating!
So often, the food we eat comes from the far reaches of our planet, passing through many hands,
travelling long roads and waterways. Make connections to local food producers and farmers and/or
find out about community shared agriculture projects in your area. Consuming locally grown foods
requires 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet, so let`s try to make a difference and have a
meal that did not travel more than 100 miles!

Recipes for Hunger - Have community members prepare meal items with foods called for in their
favorite recipes, like a traditional potlatch where everyone gets to sample each other’s favorite
recipe!

70 2011
Country Theme - Create a meal that represents a country where they struggle for access to clean
safe water or a country where D&P has partner organizations! Or

Coast-to-Coast - Have groups or teams prepare/provide meals from Canadian cuisines of their
choice.

Make your Solidarity Meal Eco-friendly

• Tap into it! Use tap water in jugs or coolers rather than bottled water
• Buy local (and if possible organic)
• Use reusable plates, cups, cutlery, etc
• Purchase fair trade and organic and local snacks to break the fast
• Reduce hydro consumption

2011 71
 201 1

72 2011
 2011 event registration
Date of your event: ________________________
School/Parish___________________________________________________________________

Contact _______________________________________________________________________

Telephone_____________________________________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________

City/town:__________________________________________Prov.:______________________

Postal Code _____________________Diocese: ________________________________________

Our fundraising goal: $_______________

Each dollar raised means a step closer to both peace and development around the world.
We encourage your organizing committee to set a fundraising goal
and challenge participants to achieve it!

To support you in your THINKfast, we will send you:

• Campaign materials (more flyers, pledge cards etc.)
• Posters and STICKERS
• A multimedia Resource DVD
• 2 FREE t-shirts

QUANTITY SIZE
Indicate quantity of preferred sizes SMALL
of your 2 FREE t-shirts.
Order additional t-shirts at $15 each - MEDIUM
they are great for promotions, prizes, LARGE
and thank yous. EXTRA LARGE

Send this form and a cheque for additional t-shirts to:

Development and Peace, 10 St. Mary Street #420, Toronto, ON M4Y 1P9
1-800-494-1401 ext 230 Fax: 416-922-0957 Email: ggallant@devp.org
 pledge form
Participant‘s name: ____________________________________ THINKfast is a program of the Canadian Catholic
Organization for Development and Peace
Group: ______________________________________________ Tel: 1-800-494-1401
Date of Fast: ________________________________________ Please make cheques payable to:
City/Town, Province: ____________________________________ DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE
Please Print Clearly. Copy both sides of the form.

Name Address Postal Phone One-time Paid Tax Want info on

(street, city, province) code # Pledge $ Receipt our Monthly
Please Giving Program
4 4 4
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Registered Charitable No. 1 1882 9902 RR0001 Tax receipts will be issued for donations over $10. THINKfast Organizers: Please copy the contact and donation info of donors giving $10 or more
Please keep these pledge sheets for your records. onto the Reporting-Tax Receipt Request Form A or B.
Please keep these pledge sheets for your records - don’t send pledge forms to D&P.
by donating...
You improve lives. You become a philanthropist. You become an ambassador for good will and what’s right.
You feed the hungry. You defend people whose rights are violated. You speak out against violence and injustice.
You make a difference.
What can my donation do?
• $5 pays for a basic literacy class in El Salvador. HOW DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE USES ITS FUNDS:
• $10 can enable a whole family to benefit from a fuel-
efficient stove made from local materials in El
6%
Salvador.
• $15 can provide protection for a Mexican family 11%
71%
whose rights are being violated through the services
of a human rights lawyer.
• $20 per month or 12 people donating $20 can
provide training to street children in MANTHOC in 12% Programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and
Lima, Peru to learn trades (e.g. baking, card-making, the Middle East + Emergency Relief
candle-making). International Solidarity Education in Canada
• $25 donated by 20 of your friends can enable 3 Administrative & Governance
women in Nigeria to become entrepreneurs and have Communications
enough income to send their children to school.
• $50 can enable an Afghani woman to learn to read
and to access health care.
For only 33¢ a day you can join Share Year Round
That’s such a small amount that you’ll be hard pressed to think of anything that costs as little. Go ahead.
Try and think of something that costs 33¢. A newspaper? No, it costs around 75¢. Twice as much as
a Share Year Round commitment. A cup of coffee? Not likely. That’s at least three times as much
as a Share Year Round commitment. The cost is hardly noticeable, but it is so valuable to many people
in Latin America, Africa, and Asia living on less than a $1 a day.
Please join today. www.devp.org. Call 1-800-494-1401 or check the SYR box on the pledge form.
 wrap up
after your
Send in your funds. Celebrate. Look ahead. Stay involved!
1. EVALUATIONS
Tell us what made your THINKfast special…
You can use the feedback forms included in this section, one for participants and a second for
organizers. Don’t forget to take pictures. Send us the best ones and we will include them on our
webpages!

2. COLLECT PLEDGE SHEETS AND DONATIONS

Collect the pledge sheets and transfer the information for the donors wishing tax receipts to the
Reporting/Tax Receipt form A or B.
Use the Reporting/Tax Receipt forms to record the name, address, and donation amount of everyone
who donated more than $10 and would like a receipt for tax purposes. You can fill out these forms
online or mail hard copies to us.

3. SEND IN OR SUBMIT ONLINE http://youth.devp.org/

• Tax Receipt Reporting form(s) and cheques
• Evaluations and any other feedback for us
• Pictures
Please make out your cheque to Development and Peace and indicate the funds were raised through
THINKfast. Return funds and forms by May 27, 2011.
Send photos, evaluation(s), Reporting/Tax Receipt forms, your cheque and donors cheques in one
envelope to:
THINKfast, Development and Peace, 10 St. Mary St. #420 Toronto, ON M4Y 1P9
The sooner you do, the sooner your group start to make a difference. Then continue to stay connected
and engage others in what you are doing!

4. THANK YOU LETTERS

AND CERTIFICATES OF
STAY CONNECTED & CONTINUE YOUR
PARTICIPATION
ENGAGEMENT
Register as a JUST YOUTH group. Youth are better able to
understand the work of DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE after
they have completed the THINKfast. Consider encouraging
them to continue their THINKfast fundraising and awareness
raising even after the fast is completed. Build a bottled
water free zone this school year!

2011 77
 PAPERWORK PAGE
for organizers
Fundraising AND Reporting for tax receipts
can be done online.
A. Individual Pledge Form (paper)
• These forms are used by the students/individuals to collect pledges for their fast. Please
keep them for your own records. After your THINKfast, transfer donor and donation
information from the pledge forms onto Reporting Form A or Form B.

B. Reporting and Tax Receipting Instructions (paper)

• We ask that all THINKfast organizers complete and submit a report form, even if the
donations from your event are sent to Development and Peace via your parish’s Share Lent
collection or through the diocese. This reporting is the best means for the Youth Programs
office to monitor and assist THINKfast events across the country and to compile accurate
results that regional animators and event organizers can use.

• Tax receipts from Development and Peace can only be issued if cheques and money orders
from individual donors are made out to Development and Peace. All this donation
information needs to be indicated on Form A of the Reporting/Tax Receipt Request Form.

• Cheques cannot be deposited if they are stale-dated (i.e., dated more than six months
earlier), so please make sure that you send in your reporting forms and cheques to us as
soon as possible after the completion of your THINKfast.

• If the funds that you raised will be sent to Development and Peace through your parish or
diocese, then your parish must issue the receipts to the donors. In that case, please fill in
only the top portion of Reporting form A or B with the information about your THINKfast.

C. Managing Cash and Cheque Donations

• If you have collected cash payment for the pledges, please do not send this cash through
the mail. Either submit a personal cheque or money order to cover these pledges OR go
online and follow the instructions for entry of offline donations.

• Please fill in Form B of the Reporting/Tax Receipt Request Form if you will be submitting a
personal cheque or money order for cash donations.

Please note: Reports to be submitted by May 27, 2011

78 2011
 School/Parish:_________________________________________________
Organizer Contact: _____________________________________________
Full Address: __________________________________________________
Diocese: _____________________________________________________

reporting Email: _______________________________________________________

Phone Number: ______________________________________________
form A Date of Your Thinkfast: _________________________________________
Number of Participants: ________________________________________
Total Money Raised: ___________________________________________

tax receipt • Tax receipts from Development and Peace can only be issued if

request form cheques/money orders from individual donors are made out to
Development and Peace. Please use Form A for these cheques.
• If you are submitting a cheque or money order to cover a number of cash donations, fill out Form B.
• If the funds that you raised will be sent to Development and Peace through your parish or diocese, then
your parish must issue the receipts to the donors. If this is the case, please share with us your totals.
Please enter donation information for people who donated $10 or more and would like a tax receipt.

Requests
Address Info. on
Donor Name (Street, city, province, postal code) Pledge $ SYR? 4

Please print and return this form by May 27, 2011
with only cheques made out to D & P:
Development and Peace
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 420
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1P9
Keep a copy for your records.
Photocopy this form if there are additional donors.
DID YOU KNOW?
You can fill in this form ONLINE and send it to us by email
through our website http://youth.devp.org
 School/Parish:_________________________________________________
Organizer Contact: _____________________________________________
Full Address: __________________________________________________
Diocese: _____________________________________________________

reporting
Email: _______________________________________________________
Phone Number: ______________________________________________

form B Date of Your Thinkfast: _________________________________________

Number of Participants: ________________________________________
Total Money Raised: ___________________________________________

tax receipt • Tax receipts from Development and Peace can only be issued if

request form cheques/money orders from individual donors are made out to
Development and Peace (Use Form A).
Use this form to report donors who want tax receipts from their cash donations of $10 or more. Cover the cash
donations by issuing a personal cheque or money order made out to Development and Peace. Make sure you
write down the name, address, and information of the donor who wants the tax receipt, and the number of the
corresponding personal cheque.

Cheque Donor Name Address Pledge Requests

Number (Street, city, province, postal code) $ Info. on
SYR? 4

Please print and return this form by May 27, 2011 Keep a copy for your records.
with cheque/money order made out to : Photocopy this form if there are additional donors.
Development and Peace
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 420
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1P9

80 2011
 organizer’s feedback
Your School/University/Parish: ____________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________________________ City/Province: _________________________
E-mail: ________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________
For each item or activity used, please indicate how effective it was on a scale of 1-5, with 1= not very successful and 5= very successful.

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What activities did you find most appropriate for your age group? Age group: ______________

Did you use any activities from previous years, as found on the website? What activities?

Did you use the Resources DVD? What was the most helpful resource?

What suggestions do you have to improve the THINKfast kit or program?

Did you use our online fundraising tools? Was your experience positive?

2011 81
 participant’s feedback

your answer here :

My favourite part
of THINKfast...

I really liked
learning about… Next time
I would
like to…
your answer here : your answer here :

82 2011