|TOP|As World Water Week takes place this week, The Salvation Army has challenged people up and down the country to change their lifestyle habits and help protect people in other parts of the world who suffer from the impact of water shortages and a lack of access to clean and safe water.

World Water Week kicked off on Sunday and will see the representatives from various NGOs focus on solutions and strategies, as they gather in Stockholm, to help the 1.1 billion people around the world who live without access to clean safe water.

It is estimated that 4,000 children die every single day in developing countries because of drought, unsafe water and water shortages, while many people are still forced to walk miles to their nearest source of water which might not even be safe for them to drink.

In the UK alone, the average rainfall has dropped by almost 30 percent since 2004.

The Salvation Army is challenging Christians across the country to save water and save lives by donating to its Watershed programme this week – an initiative to cut down on unnecessary water usage.

|AD|Captain Christine Ord, who works in The Salvation Army’s evangelism department as Church Growth Officer, challenged people to think about how well they were living this week.

“For all of us who need our lives 'cleaning up' from selfishness in our attitudes and actions, from negative behaviours that we thought would add vitality to our living but which turned out to be poisoned water - for everyone whose inner being is dry and whose life is as colourless as a desert, there is living water on offer,” she said.

She added that Jesus was, “Living water for every aspect of life – are you living well?”

Special resources have also been developed by The Salvation Army to encourage group discussions and the church is also encouraging prayers for the World Water Week in Stockholm.

World Water Week will end on 26 August.