AIS 4th Grade Water Project

Water 4th grade Project

After the 4th grade students at Argyle Intermediate School read the novel A Long Walk to Water in their English classes, they became inspired by the story. The novel, written by Linda Sue Park, is based on the true story of Salva, one of some 3,800 Sudanese “Lost Boys” airlifted to the United States beginning in the mid 1990s.

After returning to his home in southern Sudan, he established a foundation that installs water wells in remote villages in need of clean water. The 4th-grade students at Argyle Intermediate School decided that they wanted to make a difference and raise money to drill water wells. What started out as a plan for a small fundraiser turned into a large and very successful fundraiser due to the hard work of the 4th-grade students. Students brought gallon jugs from home with the intent to fill them with donations to help raise the funds needed to drill a water well. The jugs represented the jugs that the Sudanese people use to transport water to their villages each day.

The students decorated their jugs with facts, information, etc., about the Sudanese water crisis and went door to door asking family and friends to donate to this cause. After two weeks, the students brought their jugs back filled with coins, cash, and checks. The total amount raised from all of the jugs ended up being a little over $7,000. They then walked one mile on the trails by AIS, carrying the jugs to represent the idea of walking with jugs filled with water. They discussed how the walk was far from what the Sudanese people go through to get semi-clean water, but they understood the significance of walking a long distance with a heavy load. If a student did not have a jug, they partnered up with another student and shared the responsibility. Many jugs were filled to the brim with coins and weighed over 10 lbs.

After the fundraiser, Mrs. Slaton contacted Mrs. Cheri Crist, the director of donor relations at Water for South Sudan, Inc. Mrs. Crist confirmed that the donation check was received and that the donation was added to the list of sponsorships for this year’s drilling season. Initially, the teachers at AIS thought that it was $200 to build a well. But upon further investigation, they realized that $200 was to help with other water-related issues. Therefore, they made the decision to donate the entire $7,000 towards co-sponsoring a well that cost $15,000 total. The well drilling season goes from December to May, as long as weather and other unforeseen circumstances do not delay drilling. AIS' well will be drilled this year. “If the drilling season is affected, our well will be one of the first wells dug in the next drilling season,” Slaton said. When their well is drilled, a banner and concrete stamp will be created saying that the well was funded by the students of Argyle Intermediate School. Eventually the students will also receive a photograph of the villagers in front of the well holding the banner with their school’s name on it.