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VIDEO: Clarence Middle School Students Raise Awareness At Walk For Water

VIDEO: Clarence Middle School Students Raise Awareness At Walk For Water
Updated

Students at Clarence Middle School came together to show their support for clean water projects in Uganda as they took part in the 2024 Walk For Water.

The October 18 walk, during which students walked a mile while carrying jugs of water, was the culminating event after students spent weeks raising money for the Ugandan Water Project. This year’s walk is the school’s 12th campaign in 11 years, with the effort raising more than $200,000 prior to this year. The funds have led to the installation of more than 50 water collection and storage systems at school buildings throughout the country. 

“The kids want to make a better world,” said Lynn Elibol, a teacher at the school who helped organize the event. “This is one way to make that happen.”

The project was organized by the school’s seventh grade ELA team, Elibol said, including Jennie Rook, Leslie Heim, Nicole McGreevy, Stephanie Dietz and Peggy Strauss. 

The campaign began as students read the novel “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, which tells the story of conflict in Sudan and South Sudan. The book’s message resonated with seventh grader Zachary Thompson, who worked with his family and his church to raise more than $3,800 toward the effort. The mile-long walk and the weight of the water jugs gave Zachary the time to reflect on supporting those who have to travel great distances for water.

“I was thinking about the way that children in Uganda have to do this every single day, and it's just crazy to think about,” he said. “It gives us the experience and gives us the motivation to fundraise and get clean water for as many people as possible.”

Jessica Alinaitwe, chief of staff for the Ugandan Water Project, said that Ugandan children walk long distances every day to collect water, and that events like the Walk for Water can help students relate to those challenges.

“Because the seventh graders walked today, it will relieve that burden from students in Uganda tomorrow and for years to come,” Alinaitwe said.

The students’ work over the years has made a direct impact on students their own age. The Ugandan Water Project shared that a rainwater collection system at the Kawsum Modern Primary School in Lubanyi supported by Clarence students last school year brought clean water to the school’s 21 staff members and approximately 480 students. The organization said that the system eliminated 28.37 miles of walking and 54 hours of water collection time per day for the school’s population.

Donations are still being collected toward the effort through October 23. More information about the effort can be found at https://ugandanwaterproject.com/clarence/.

Seventh grade students at Clarence Middle School pose after taking part in the Walk for Water event on October 18, the culminating event for the school’s fundraising drive for the Ugandan Water Project.
Students take part in the Walk for Water event at Clarence Middle School on October 18. During the fundraising event, students walk while carrying jugs of water, symbolizing the Ugandan children who walk great distances for clean water.
Students take part in the Walk for Water event at Clarence Middle School on October 18. The annual event is a key part of the school’s fundraising drive for the Ugandan Water Project.
A water collection system at Kawsum Modern Primary School in Lubanyi, Uganda, was supported by students at Clarence Middle School. The project is said to have eliminated 28.37 miles of walking and 54 hours of water collection time per day for the school’s population.