Sixth Graders Surpass Goal in Water Walk

On April 16, 88 FWCD sixth graders participated in a water walk on the Barrett Havran Track in Rosacker Stadium to raise money for Water for South Sudan. (Watch a video of the water walk created by Middle School iPad Coordinator John Long.) The effort was inspired by their reading of A Long Walk to Water in their English classes. The book is based on the true story of Salva Dut, a Sudanese “Lost Boy” and the founder of the nonprofit organization. The book weaves Salva’s journey in 1985 with the story of Nya, a young girl in 2008 who walks miles each day in search of clean water, highlighting the ongoing struggle for access to clean water. 

Before the walk, students wrote a script about the plight of women in South Sudan and then took pledges from family, friends and neighbors for each lap they walked. While carrying two gallon jugs of water, weighing approximately 16 pounds total, the students walked the track to emulate what it is like for people in South Sudan as they walk to get fresh water every day. The goal for each student was to walk 16 laps, or four miles, in an hour. 

The students surpassed their goal, walking a total of 355.5 miles and raising $66,705.69, the largest amount raised since the project began in 2023. This money will go toward drilling new wells in South Sudan, which cost $20,000 each. After the walk, the 160 one-gallon jugs of water that the students carried were donated to Catholic Charities. Watch their reaction as when they learned how much money they raised.

“These sixth graders are going to change the lives of villagers on the other side of the world,” said Middle School English and Geography Teacher Shari Lincoln.

This is the third year FWCD has participated in the water walk. In the first year, the Class of 2029 raised $40,265.83. The money raised was enough for a well. Last year, the Class of 2030 raised $35,939.75, which went toward another well, making that two wells in Africa that have Fort Worth Country Day engraved on them.

As the winner of the Iron Giraffe Challenge, the students will have the opportunity to speak to Salva Dut on a video call on Wednesday, May 14. 

To learn more about the water walk initiative, read “From Inspiration to Action,” which was featured in Volume 14, Issue 2 of the Falconer.