ONTARIO — Jonathon Winans and Mason Wilkerson both felt a bit shaky as they stood in front of the board of education Tuesday night.
The two eighth graders, joined by their classmate Adelina Hines, presented their latest English Language Arts project. They also told the board about a class-wide service initiative.
“I felt really nervous. My heart was beating really fast, but I honestly did way better than expected,” Wilkerson said afterward.
The students, led by teachers Wendy Wilging and Aubrey Cardwell, read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. The book is based on the true story of Salva Dut.
Dut was one of the “Lost Boys,” a group of over 20,000 boys displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War.
After being relocated to the United States, Salva attended college. He went on to found Water for South Sudan. The non-profit organization installs and rehabilitates wells in remote villages that lack clean water.
Salva’s story is told side-by-side with that of a fictional character, Nya, a young girl living in modern-day Sudan. Nya and her family are impacted by poor access to drinking water, which remains an issue in South Sudan. According to UNICEF, 59 percent of the South Sudanese population lacks access to clean water.
Students compared the story to a news article on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
‘We learned how one class can make a difference’
Cardwell and Wilging also had the students create bracelets to sell during lunch. Students received some larger donations at the onset of their project and charged $1 each for bracelets. They ultimately raised $360 to donate to Water for South Sudan.
“Many people around the world do not have access to clean water. Children and adults get sick and might even die, but the eighth grade has decided to make a difference,” Winans told the board.
“Making a difference is difficult. But when we decided to do this, we knew we could try to help and impact the lives of countless people.”
Hines said the service project was a positive experience that brought the eighth grade closer.
“We learned how to make these bracelets and how crisises can help bring communities together,” she said during her portion of the presentation. “We learned how we can help and how we one class can make a difference.”
The students said they still have bracelets left. To purchase one, email cardwell.aubrey@olsohio.org.