The Bulawayo Junior City Council commemorated the 2026 Day of the African Child on Friday, 26 June 2026 with an educational tour of Criterion Water Treatment Works in Bulawayo, aligning the activity with this year’s continental theme: “Ensuring Universal Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for Every Child.”

The event brought together Junior Councillors who represent the voices and interests of young citizens across the city, placing them at the center of civic engagement and environmental education.

Criterion Water Treatment Works, one of the City of Bulawayo’s key facilities for treating and distributing potable water, served as the classroom for the day.

During the tour on Friday, Junior Councillors were taken through each stage of the city’s water purification and distribution processes.

They observed how raw water is abstracted, treated, tested for quality, and then pumped into the distribution network that serves households, schools, clinics, and businesses. The experience gave them direct insight into the complexity and precision required to deliver safe drinking water at scale, while also highlighting the vulnerabilities that come with aging infrastructure, climate pressures, and resource management challenges.

The decision to host the tour at Criterion was deliberate. Access to clean water remains a defining issue for children across Africa, and Zimbabwe is no exception.

By grounding the Day of the African Child commemorations in a practical, site-based learning experience, the City of Bulawayo reinforced why safeguarding water resources and protecting treatment infrastructure must be treated as a shared responsibility.

For the Junior Councillors, the visit translated a global theme into something tangible: water is not an abstract right, but a resource that demands daily stewardship, investment, and public accountability.

Beyond technical knowledge, the tour reinforced the broader role of young people in shaping their communities. The Junior Councillors engaged with city officials and water engineers, asking questions about conservation, wastage, and the impact of pollution on source water. In doing so, they demonstrated the qualities of responsible citizenship and environmental stewardship that the Day of the African Child seeks to promote. The visit also positioned them as advocates. With first-hand knowledge of how water reaches their taps, they are now better equipped to speak on the importance of universal WASH access, to challenge practices that endanger water sources, and to encourage their peers to value every drop.

The significance of the initiative extends beyond a single day of commemorations. Through structured exposure to municipal systems, the City of Bulawayo continues to empower future leaders with knowledge that supports sustainable development and improved service delivery. When young people understand how essential services function, they are more likely to participate meaningfully in civic programmes, to demand transparency, and to contribute solutions rather than only critiques. The Criterion tour provided that foundation: a generation of Junior Councillors who have seen the process, asked the hard questions, and left with a clearer sense of their role in protecting a resource that every child depends on.

As Zimbabwe joins the continent in reflecting on the rights and well-being of children, the Bulawayo Junior City Council’s WASH tour offers a model for how commemorations can move from statements to action.

By combining education, exposure, and advocacy, the City ensured that this year’s theme was not just heard, but understood and carried forward by the very group it seeks to serve every child.