Sixth Grade Raised Money for Water for South Sudan

On April 24, 62 FWCD sixth graders participated in a water walk on the Barrett Havran Track in Rosacker Stadium to raise money for Water for South Sudan after reading A Long Walk to Water in their English classes. The book is based on the true story of Salva Dut, the founder of the organization, a Sudanese “Lost Boy” who fled his war-torn country as a child. It intertwines Salva's journey in 1985 with the story of Nya, a young girl in 2008, both struggling to survive and find clean water. 

Prior to the walk, students took pledges from family and friends for each lap they walked. While carrying two gallon jugs of water, weighing approximately 16 pounds total, the students walked the track to emulate what it is like for people in South Sudan as they walk to get fresh water every day. The goal for each student was to walk 16 laps, or four miles, in an hour. The students surpassed their goal, walking a total of 218 miles and raising $35,939.75. This money will go toward drilling new wells in South Sudan, which cost $20,000 each. In addition to supporting South Sudan, the students donated the 120 jugs of water used in the water walk to Union Gospel Mission, supporting their local community as well. “The Class of 2030 is small but mighty,” said Shari Lincoln and Anne-Lise (Knecht) Woods ’85, sixth grade English Teachers. “We are so very proud of the difference these students are making in the lives of others – both locally and globally. Because of their efforts, a village will have access to clean, fresh water, transforming the lives of all who live there. Locally, many unhoused people in our community will receive water during the hottest parts of our Texas summer.”

To learn more about the water walk initiative read “From Inspiration to Action,” which was featured in Volume 14 Issue 2 of the Falconer.