This week is an exciting one for our grade five class. They have been studying the book "A Long Walk to Water", a true story based on Salva, a child who walked to Ethiopia, then Kenya, lived in refugee camps to escape the civil war and being forced into child soldiering; and on Nya, who lived 23 years later in the new region of South Sudan, walking all day to get a jug of water for her family. The two stories merge when Salva, a grown man, dedicates his life's work to drilling wells for the poor communities of his country and helps to dig a well in Nya's village.
Inspired by the story of Salva and Nya, they have set a goal of raising $400 within our own community for the effort to bring clean water to places that need it desperately. The organization they have chosen to work with is Water for South Sudan (www.waterforsouthsudan.org). As a class, they will host a bake sale on Wednesday, selling baked goods (so easily at our finger-tips) for $2 (extra donations accepted).
Today, I was privileged to hear two of the grade 5 students read a speech they had prepared to educate and inspire others to participate in this bake sale. It was evident that the story had been the vehicle through which they sensed a need for justice and access to basic human needs before anything else could happen (education, health care resources).
Times like these remind me of the richness of Christian Education. An intermingling of literature, language arts (discussing, analyzing, writing, speaking), media arts (advertising, spreading the word, preparing print media, accessing online media) with themes that make our faithful response real and tangible; this marries excellent education with application, real issues, and real work for real people.
This class is truly plugging in and taking the opportunity to shine as children of light!! May God be glorified in their work, and the people who benefit receive the clean water they so desperately need to thrive.
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