About 150 Centre Wellington District High School students learned just what it was like to carry water, in the heat, over several kilometres last week.
On May 24 the Centre Wellington District High School Me to We club hosted a water walk during which students walked from the high school to JD Hogarth Public School, to Victoria Terrace Public School and back to the high school.
At Victoria Terrace the students stopped to fill up water jugs, simulating the journey many people in developing countries take on a daily basis to collect clean water for their families.
“There are … 844 million people worldwide without access to clean water,” said Me to We club member Abby Liebregt while students took a break at Victoria Terrace.
“We just thought when it’s $25 to provide an individual with water for life … $25 is something small and it makes such a huge impact for someone’s life, for the rest of their life.”
Club member Soraya Benninger added that in some countries people spend up to five hours a day traveling to get water.
Rachel Routly, another club member, said the walk was vital to bring attention to the importance of water.
“It influences whether or not [people in countries with limited access to water] can have jobs to pull themselves out of poverty, whether or not people can go to school to further their education and they can’t do that if they have to spend so much time doing water,” Routly said.
“So it really impacts how they can live their lives.”
She added the water they travel to retrieve may not even be clean and could make them sick.
“By having a well close to town they save time and they can be more healthy because it’s not dirty water,” she said.
The high school students participating in the water walk joined as teams and the club asked for a minimum donation of $10 per walker.
The event raised $880 that will go to Me to We water initiatives around the world.
“This will go to any kind of location or community that needs it the most,” Liebregt said.
“So it won’t be … designated … but it will go anywhere that needs it.”
