As the President of YDF, one of the oldest Civil Society Organization of Bhutan, Her Majesty is coming forward to partner for the noble cause, ‘Water is Happiness‘ and to support various water-related programs. Her Majesty feels immense concern because children and youth are our future and they will critically impact the use of water, our most precious resource. This awareness campaign will be first of its kind which will be launched in New Delhi, the capital of India, and will also be taken to other Indian states and abroad. Water elicits not only environmental concerns, it also affects society, economics and livelihoods. Therefore, befittingly, this event is expected to bring together people from all walks of life, especially from the corporate sector, to contribute towards this program championed by Her Majesty.
The idea behind the theme of the event “Water is Happiness ; Do you know where your water comes from?” was brought in from our small community school.
This simple question was asked by a teacher to the students of Talhogang Primary School, a Place-based and STE(A)M (Science, Technology, Engineering,Arts & Math) Education located in ‘My Gakidh Village“, which is one of the pride projects of Her Majesty.
Her Majesty was gravely concerned by the children’s responses:
“ My water comes from the pipe.”
“My water comes from a tap.”
Their understanding of water extended to no more than what they could immediately see. Sadly, this remains true of most adults too. The majority of us remain ignorant that water sources lie far away in catchment areas that need to be protected and conserved. Therefore, the YDF under the wise leadership of Her Majesty solicits international organizations and relevant stakeholders within the country to come together to raise funds for programs that need support, especially in awareness and education on protection of water catchment areas. It is evident that what happens upstream impacts downstream as all the rivers of Bhutan take a gravitational journey into the great plains of India and later join the Bay of Bengal.
Children and Business are Investments for the Future. So is Water.
