READERS' FORUM   In praise of UN-HABITAT's value-based water education project for African Cities. Just like in any society, people at our school hardly realised the importance of water and the need for its conservation. Taps were often left running. The school had many leaking pipes. Pupils and teachers usually ignored such leakages, assuming they would simply be repaired. Pupils would take unnecessarily long showers. Toilets were often flushed for no apparent reason. A similar situation prevailed in many of our homes. In the townships, council water pipes often had leakages. Public taps, frequently vandalised, had water pouring out all the time. And when VBWE was introduced to our school in October 2001, the teachers and we students sighed at the thought an additional subject on the curriculum. We were also suspicious of the idea of values because we thought that this was colonialism. Yet as the programme was unfolded, our fears quickly abated. We realised that the values of truth, love, peace, decent conduct and non-violence and their many practical applications, have always been part of our culture. We came to enjoy VBWE issues in class. As a result of this programme, which opened our minds and eyes and touched upon our hearts, we became wiser in the use of this valuable resource. So what did we do? The whole school, teachers and pupils, took practical steps to ensure that the seeds of VBWE took root in us. A Water Task Force (WTF) was formed; running taps were closed and these soon became uncommon; open drums were placed under the taps in order to stop wastage and at the end of each day, the water collected was used for plants and flowers; toilets were only opened at specific times, and the unnecessary flushing has been reduced. In addition to all these practical steps, we also have a Water Room where quotations on and about water are displayed. Water billboards posted around the school compound. We now wear water badges and Thursdays have been set aside as water days when songs, poetry and drama relating to water are sung, recited and performed. We are very grateful to UN-HABITAT for introducing this programme. It has brought about rapid changes in the way we look at and use water. - Isaac Chanda, 17, Head boy of the Sathya Sai School in Ndola, Zambia A word of congratulations Congratulations on the new format of Habitat Debate and on the quality of the contents of the magazine. I am looking forward to views on the housing delivery system in a globalizing world. - Raoul Snelder, Architect, Ooftmengersdreef 3, 6216 SJ Maastricht, The Netherlands.   Join the debate - your views are important We welcome readers' letters to stimulate the debate. These will be published under this Readers' Forum, at the discretion of the Editor, who may shorten or edit material to meet space and style requirements. The remaining issue this year will cover Urban Land Policy and Management. Write to habitat.debate@unhabitat.org, or to the Information Services Section (Habitat Debate), P.O. Box 30030, GPO, Nairobi, 00100, KENYA, or fax number 254-20-623477. We would also like to know what you think of the new design and contents of Habitat Debate. Please take a few minutes to complete the form below and send it to the above address. The form is also available on www.unhabitat.org/hd/form.asp. Name: Organization: Address: E-mail: Who you are o Business Industry o Central Government o Community-Based Organization o Government Agency o Inter-Governmental Organization o Library/Documentation Centre o Local Authority o Journalist/Media o Non-Governmental Organization o Researcher o Student o Trust/Foundation o United Nations System Other - please specify Topics of Interest o Environment o Housing Rights/Security of Tenure o Risk & Disaster Management o Rural Linkages o Safer Cities o Slum Upgrading o Statistics o Training/Capacity Building o Urban Poverty o Urban Development o Urban Finance o Urban Governance o Water and Sanitation Other - please specify