Fourth-graders at Emerson Elementary have been reading “A Long Walk to Water,” which is based on the true story of one of the 3,800 Sudanese “Lost Boys” airlifted to the United States beginning in the mid-1990s.
To better understand the story, students are learning about the world water crisis.
-
Abe and Lisa Wright recently visited students and shared their work on providing a solution to the world water crisis. Abe Wright is an engineer who started the company, Design Outreach, with Greg Bixler. Among their designs: the LifePump, an innovative hand pump that reaches deep into the ground to access aquifers filled with fresh, clean water, enabling people to have access to reliable water at greater depths than previously possible.
-
Fourth- and fifth-graders partnered with Design Outreach to raise money to build a pump in Malawi, raising more than $1,300 in two weeks. (Those interested in donating to the school’s campaign can do so here.)
-
To further extend their understanding of the book, the fourth- and fifth-graders went to Sharon Woods Metro Park and connected with two engineers from Design Outreach, Naja Robinson and Hannah Tilley. The engineers talked about their work and experiences with installing pumps in Africa. Students then participated in a water walk, putting into context the lengths — two miles or longer — women and girls in Malawi walk to get water. Emerson students walked a 5K and worked together to carry eight jerry cans — containers used by women and girls around the world to collect water for their families. After the walk, Robinson and Tilley revealed the LifePump where students could see and try out the prototype.
A Long Walk to Water features the true story of Salva Dut, a Sudanese Lost Boy who is separated from his family by war and forced to travel on foot through hundreds of miles of hostile territory. He survives starvation, animal attacks, and disease, and ultimately leads a group of about 150 boys to safety in Kenya. Relocated to upstate New York, Salva learns English and continues on to college. Eventually, he returns to his home region in southern Sudan to establish a foundation that installs deep-water wells in remote villages in dire need of clean water. His story is told side-by-side with the story of Nya, a young girl who lives today in one of those villages.