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A total of nine students will take a symbolic six-hour trek around the track on Friday, April 12 in lieu of attending their normally scheduled classes in an effort to raise awareness and money to combat the ongoing water crisis in South Sudan.
The students were inspired after reading Linda Sue Park’s “A Long Walk to Water” in Jessica Juska’s freshman Honors English class. The book tells the true story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and intertwines it with a fictional tale of a Sudanese girl who had to walk two hours to collect water in a pond twice a day.
The Girls Walk for Water is a six-hour long walk along the track to symbolize the Sudanese girls’ journey to get water. The students will walk for 90 minutes with empty water jugs, 90 minutes with full water jugs and the remaining 90 minutes with empty jugs.
Students also hope to raise funds to sponsor the construction of a well in South Sudan that will improve water accessibility. Schools that raise at least $5,000 get a partial well sponsorship, and schools that raise $15,000 receive a full well sponsorship through Water for South Sudan, a non-profit founded by Salva Dut - the “lost boy” featured in the book.
“A well in the village would prevent girls from having to walk instead of going to school to get water,” said student Alicia Eder. “It would also provide clean water so fewer people would become sick.”
To donate to the fundraiser or learn more information, click here.
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