BREWSTER – Dozens of Brewster High School students spent Monday walking the high school track symbolizing what young people in South Sudan do twice daily to obtain fresh water.
The teenagers are helping to changing the world since for the sixth year they participated in We Walk For Water, the culmination of a fundraiser in which they have raised over $6,000 this year and $32,000 since 2017 for six wells in South Sudan located in the poverty-stricken African nation.
Their engagement grew from the books they read in English class: “Running for My Life,” “They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky,” and “A Long Walk To Water.”
“Books can lead you all over the world, including places where things are inequitable. Empathy for a book’s character can lead to engagement,” said organizer and English teacher Jessica Juska, who told her students, “It is a pleasure to take you on a journey through reading and books. I am proud of you for the work you have done.”
Monaco Pillai, a senior at BHS who has been involved in We Walk For Water for the past four years said he “learned about empathy by taking only one full school day to experience what young kids in South Sudan do every day. They give up their education to walk miles for water, something we simply turn on the faucet to receive. It’s a truly unimaginable situation for these kids.”
Adrianna Mancini, communications coordinator for the non-profit Water for South Sudan, visited Putnam County to thank the students.
”Drilling fresh water changes everything,” she said. “Clean water has an impact on health, education and community.”
BHS junior Jeannah Dossous called it “really touching to see the kids of Sudan happy and drinking the water, knowing now they can avoid any possible diseases that could potentially harm them.”
Another student, Mark Feddio, summed it up. “Participating in We Walk for Water is not only an incredible opportunity to change lives in South Sudan but also an experience that will leave students feeling inspired and empowered to create change as we grow out of our privileged community and are exposed to the injustices of the real world.”
Juska decided to offer students the service opportunity because “as a teacher, it is my passion to develop students who can see their place in the world and learn to really believe that this world needs them in it. My life experience has taught me that we often develop a sense of our own self-worth when we can see ourselves helping others, and there is nothing more tangible than sponsoring a well in a remote village in South Sudan where people have no access to fresh water.”
