Enter the IWSH Scholarship Essay Contest

IWSH Essay Contest graphic
2024 Topic

“Why do you believe access to water and sanitation is a human right?”


You are

  • a current high school senior or
  • a full-time (12 credit hours) student in an accredited technical school, community college, trade school, apprentice program or
  • an undergraduate student enrolled in a four-year accredited college or university. International students are welcome to enter.

You care 

  • that people have access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation.

You want to make a difference. 

The Need

1000 children die daily from poor sanitation

  • 2,100,000,000 people do not have taps that bring fresh water to their houses.  That’s 3 in 10 people.
  • 4,500,000,000 people do not have toilets in their house.  That’s 6 in 10 people.
  • 361,000 children aged under 5 die each year from water-born diarrhoea caused by contaminated water. Almost 1,000 children a day.
  • 900,000,000 school children have no handwashing facilities.

Most people take safe water and basic indoor plumbing for granted. But a substantial water access gap exists, We seek to lift up new voices to help us achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal #6 of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

That's where you come in. 

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How To Enter

Ready to tell the story of plumbing?

Our contest aims to acquaint the uninitiated with the crucial importance the plumbing industry plays in our everyday lives.

  • Essays must be no fewer than 800 words and no more than 1,600 words written on the topic noted above.
  • Your essay must be original.  Please be advised that the scholarship committee may run the essay through an AI detector and/or run a plagiarism scan, which could cause your essay to be disqualified.
  • The deadline to enter is April 30, 2024, 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
The Sandra Imprescia Essay Scholarship Committee will review essays to determine the top four. IWSH’s Board of Trustees will select and announce essay contest winners by the Fall of 2024.

 

IWSH Essay Prizes graphic

Enter Now

Per the contest rules, submitting your essay grants IWSH and its partners, including news media outlets, the right to use your name, photograph, statements, quotes, and testimonials, including without limitation any submitted writing in whole or in part for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes without notification or further compensation. This includes, but is not limited to, publication on IWSH’s social media accounts, as well as print or electronic publications. IWSH maintains the right to reproduce, reprint, distribute, perform, display, or exhibit any submitted materials for advertising, publicity, and promotional purposes on its website, in IAPMO’s quarterly magazine, at conferences, or other venues.