IMAGINE walking for miles every day just to find something to drink. Or not having anywhere clean to go to the toilet.

As part of their work towards a Silver Sustainable School Awards, children at St Francis VC School in Milford Haven have been learning all about the importance of clean water in staying fit and healthy.

At a special assembly on Friday, March 21, pupils were visited by Dave Padfield, of charity Water Aid, who spoke to children about how children in some countries struggle to access drinking water, and often have to drink dirty or contaminated water, which can make then very ill.

“Water means such a lot to people who don’t have it,” he said.

He added that, without access to doctors or medicine, a case of diarrhoea or vomiting that could easily be treated in the UK can even lead to death.

He demonstrated by showing children a bottle of water filled from the Cleddau river, and comparing the dirty brown liquid inside with that from a shop-bought bottle.

“If you were desperate, you would drink it, even if it’s dirty,” he said.

He told children about the important work that Water Aid is doing to help provide clean water for people by building wells and simple compost toilets.

After his presentation, Mr Padfield was a cheque for £100 for the charity by head girl Megan Rickards and head boy Tom Blockwell.

The money was raised by the children wearing green clothes to school for St Patrick’s Day, and from a coffee morning.

Headteacher Mrs Sue Roberts said all classes had been taking part in activities to learn more about water and wastage, and that Water Aid had been picked as the school’s Lenten charity because of the work it does across the world.

“It’s not just about aiming for an award, it’s about doing something good,” she said.