Our class novel, A Long Walk to Water, begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. The following links/resources will help you build background knowledge and, hopefully, enhance your enjoyment of the novel.
Get ready to learn…
I. MEET THE NATION
HISTORY OF SUDAN ANIMOTO
- Watch the short video by clicking on THIS LINK (Right Click and open in a separate tab.)
- Use the A Long Walk to Water Webquest Response Sheet that is posted in your Google Classroom to record your responses.
- The transcript of the video is below (to help you answer the response questions.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
From 1985 to 2005, Sudan was wracked by civil war. Millions died, millions more were displaced, fleeing for their lives to refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, and other countries.
Among those who fled through barren, war-torn southern desert were thousands of children, mostly boys, some as young as five. They became known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” Five thousand died. Slava Dut, the main character of A Long Walk to Water, was one of those boys. Relocated to the United States in 1996, he now leads Water for South Sudan, Inc., the non-profit organization he founded in 2003.
In 2005, after over two decades of war, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. In peaceful areas of South Sudan, Water for South Sudan is achieving the vision of Salva Dut, drilling water wells in South Sudan. As of May, 2013 WFSS has drilled 177 wells in remote villages of South Sudan, bringing clean water to over 400,00 people.
Without safe water, millions of South Sudanese must trek miles, every day to collect water from ponds, marshes, ditches, or hand-dug wells. This water is often contaminated with parasites and disease-bearing bacteria. The results are sickness, even death. Imagine if you are a woman who treks miles each day for often-contaminated water in desert heat often reaching upwards of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Returning home, you carry a 40 to 50-pound water container on your head. Your children may walk with you, or wait at home for a drink, a bath. They’re not in school because there is no school.
Then, a change happens. A borehole well is drilled nearby, sponsored by Water for South Sudan which was founded in 2003 by Salva Dut (the main character of A Long Walk to Water) Now, instead of hours of walking, or waiting for safe, drinkable water, there’s time for other things. Important things for your family, your village. Your village builds a school. A teacher arrives. Your children have new learning and new dreams for their lives.
Safe water can satisfy many thirsts.
II. BBK: Documentary Analysis
Students will watch three short National Geographic videos about the Lost Boys and on video about Jay Z and the water crisis and complete listening activities on the response sheet.
1. Background
“The Lost Boys of Sudan (PBS)”
Video #1 (Right Click and open in a separate tab or view below.)
2. Refugees
“From Sudan to the U.S. (NAT GEO)” – Sudan’s civil war forced over 25,000 Lost Boys to trek across sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety. After watching the documentary clip list six adjectives that describe life as a refugee.
Video #2 (Right Click and open in a separate tab or view below.)
3. A New Country
“Cultural Differences (NAT GEO)” – Things that are part of our everyday lives and that we don’t think very much about or appreciate are considered things we take for granted. Watch as the Lost Boys experience for the first time what most Americans take for granted and as they gain valuable insight on American norms.
Video #3 (Right Click and open in a separate tab or view below.)
4. A Hip Hop Perspective
JAY Z ON THE WATER CRISIS – Jay Z the rap star is a spokesperson for the UN on the world water crisis. He is taken to several schools and homes to see the local water issues.
Video #4 (Right Click and open in a separate tab or view below.)
III. BONUS OPTION Jay-Z ON THE WATER CRISIS Part 2
Video #5 (Right Click and open in a separate tab or view below.)
IV. BONUS: Addressing the Problem
If you had to walk a mile for a jug of water every day, as millions of people do, it’s unlikely you’d use that precious water to bathe. After you complete your “quest”, you will embark on a simulation that will allow you to get a small sense of what it is like to walk in the shoes of those who take a long walk to water. Before you take this next step, meet a young entrepreneur named Ludwick Marishane. Listen to his amazing, funny story of how he invented a cheap, clean, and convenient solution.
Web Extras:
- Charity Watch has a list of many charities that help around the world.
https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities
http://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/ (Salva’s charity, Water for South Sudan)
V. NOW YOU ARE READY TO WALK FOR WATER
LEARNING TARGET – I CAN PARTICIPATE IN A SIMULATION TO CREATE A REAL-WORLD CONNECTION TO THE PLIGHT OF COMMUNITIES FACING A WATER CRISIS.
Clean water is something most of us take for granted and yet a daily reality for many women and children in Africa and Asia is having to walk an average of nearly 3-4 miles to find and collect water. Even though the journey to fetch water can be very dangerous, and take many, many hours, this walk for water is crucial.
USE TO THE WalkforWater_Simulation COMPLETE YOUR TASK.
YOUR TEAM TASK
- YOU WILL BE GIVEN A 5 GALLON BUCKET OF WATER TO CARRY.
- YOUR TEAM MUST COMPLETE TWO LAPS AROUND THE SOCCER FIELD (APPX. A 1/2 MILE.)
- WRITE 1/2 MILE AS A DECIMAL _____________________________
- ONE MEMBER OF YOUR TEAM WILL BE THE TIMER AND WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A TIMER.
- ONE MEMBER WILL CARRY AT A TIME.
- ONE MEMBER WILL KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY TIMES YOU REST AND HOW MANY TIMES YOU SWITCH TO A NEW CARRIER.
- HOW YOU DECIDE TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY IS UP TO YOU (TAKE TURNS, ONE PERSON CARRIES…)
- WHEN YOUR BUCKET CROSSES THE FINISH LINE, THE TIMER WILL MARK THE TIME:
TIME: ______________________
Q1. HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU PUT THE BUCKET DOWN? ____________________________
Q2. HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU SWITICH CARRIERS. ________________________________
Q3. HOW LONG WOLD YOUR JOURNEY TAKE IF YOU CARRIED THE BUCKET FOR FOUR MILES INSTEAD OF A 1/2 MILE?
___________________________________________________
Q4. IF YOU HAD TO MAKE THIS JOURNEY TWICE A DAY, HOW MUCH TIME WOULD YOU SPEND WALKING FOR WATER?
Q5. IF YOU DID NOT HAVE TO WALK FOR WATER WHAT ELSE COULD YOU BE DOING THAT COULD IMPROVE YOUR LIVING SITUATION?