8:30-11:30 Walk to the Pond and Back
11:30-12:30 Lunch in the Village
12:30-2:30 Walk to the Pond and Back
106 BHS students spent the day walking around the track to symbolize the walk children in South Sudan do twice a day to get clean water.
The walk, a fundraiser for Walk For Water, has raised over $25,000 in the past five years, and has enabled the foundation to drill 4 wells.
The premise of the walk started with a books: They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky, and A Long Walk to Water.
“Books can take us anywhere in the world, " said English teacher Jessica Juska, “we get to see what life is like in South Sudan without access to water–and students in Brewster took action. This walk can be life changing if you walk with solemnity.”
Juska decided to offer students this service opportunity “because as a teacher, it is my passion to develop students who can see their place in the world and learn to really believe that this world needs them in it..My life experience has taught me that we often develop a sense of our own self worth when we can see ourselves helping others, and there is nothing more tangible than sponsoring a well in a remote village in South Sudan where people have no access to fresh water.”
Before the walk, students gathered in the Senior Lounge, wearing sneakers and carrying water bottles.
The Executive Director of Water for South Sudan, Lynn Malooly, spoke to the group via Google Meet.
“It’s 8 in the morning, raise your hand if you have had a drink of water or washed your hands or flushed a toilet or brushed your teeth.”
All hands went up.
“Not everyone has access to water like you do,” she explained.
“I think this is an amazing organization and deserves every bit of support it can get, said senior Angelina Curtin, “it is so important that we realize how much of a privilege it is to live everyday with access to clean, fresh, water and not have to worry about the next time we will have it. It’s especially important as women that we realize that the girls in South Sudan do not get to have an education due to the water crisis - anything we can do give these girls an education, and in turn the opportunity for a better life, we should.
How did the 15 mile walk go?
“The day was excellent, said junior Kevin Fox, “initially the walk felt easy and was an enjoyable breath of fresh air, but as the day rolled on, everyone started to get increasingly tired and sore. By the end of the walk, as the sun beamed down, it became clear just how resilient and strong the South Sudanese people must be to make that trip daily in even warmer temperatures. Although their feet hurt just as ours did during the walk, they have no choice but to continue their journey to the pond and back for a basic human necessity.”