Middle School Walks for Water

At the beginning of each year, the Round Square group in the Middle School spends time brainstorming what initiatives they are going to focus on during the year. The group is set up to empower the students to decide what cause or organization they want support and then to design their own fund- or awareness-raising initiatives. One of the causes identified this year was the water crisis faced by over 840 million people worldwide who are living without access to safe drinking water. Members of the group decided to organize a We Walk for Water activity for their classmates to raise awareness about this issue as well as hold a bake sale to raise funds to donate through WE.org. Grade 7 student Kate Flye explains, “We organized our activity to raise awareness about how women and girls in many developing countries can’t go to school because they have to spend all day carrying water for their families. If they didn’t have to carry water, they could go to school, which would benefit their families and their communities. And the water they bring home is often dirty or contaminated so sometimes people get sick.” On May 22, Middle School students walked to Gonzales Beach and filled buckets or bottles with water that they carried as they walked in a double loop from the beach to Crescent Road. By doing this exercise, the students gained an understanding of what many young girls in developing countries do every day to ensure their families have water. Kate says it was important for her peers to take part “because a lot of people don’t understand how hard it is to actually carry water for eight hours every single day. Making people more aware might make them want to help more and then maybe the problem could be solved.”