Despite THREE snow days, we are on a roll with our Help Haiti water project! This week we educated students during lunch about the need for clean water in the world. Through video footage from countries who lack access to clean water, students learned what it means to not have access to clean water. They learned how lucky they are to be able to turn on the tap and get water that won't make them sick. | This video gives a snapshot of how important water is to us all. |
The video below shows what carrying 40 pounds of water looks like. | The video below answers the question, "Why water??" |
We also set up our own "Water Walk" in the cafeteria where students can try to carry a five-gallon jug full of water. This jug is similar to what women and children are expected to carry in developing countries around the world (check out the video above). It's hard work! And most of them have to travel great distances (an average of three and a half miles) everyday just to gather diseased water to bring back to their families. Students eyes went wide when they realized they were struggling just to carry the jug a few feet! We did the math. We'd have to carry the jug on our Water Walk 640 times in order to carry it 3.5 miles!! Whoa. | (Above) That's about 40 pounds of water he is carrying. (At left) Mrs. Anderson's second graders are pictured here waiting their turn to try the "Water Walk." |
Next week we begin collecting money in order to buy the filters volunteers will be installing in Haiti in just a couple of months. (Remember from our last post, members of Lowell Rotary International are traveling to Haiti with Starfysh in early March. We have partnered with them in this project.) Similar to our "Kiva Wall of Fame" from last year, students who donate will be able to put their name up on our "Water for Haiti Wall of Fame" displayed in our school cafeteria. Even though we slated next week for donations, several students could not wait and have donated already. One sweet girl named Isabella was so moved by the images she saw that she made brownies and sold them at church in order to raise money! | Instead of setting a building goal for an amount of money to raise, we encouraged teachers to set a goal for their individual classes. If the classroom meets their personal goal, we will send a label to Haiti to be put on a water filter in their honor. Goals and the amount individual classes raise will be kept secret. We will announce our building-wide total at the end of next week (or the beginning of the following week if things get crazy...). |
Of course it's not only about raising money. The biggest thing our group wanted to do was raise awareness of the global water crisis. Students have been sharing water facts with people in their lives all week. We can't do anything about a problem we don't know exists.
Finally, I'd like to answer the questions, "Why Starfysh? And "Why Haiti?" The two answers really go hand in hand. You may have heard the story about a boy spending his day at the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean after they were stranded at low tide. With miles of shoreline to cover and millions of starfish stranded, an old man questioned the boy asking why he even bothered. "Even if you work all day, you can't possibly make a difference," the old man said. The boy threw another starfish into the ocean and said, "I just made a difference for that one."
This is the story behind Starfysh's name. Rather than try to solve the problems of the entire world, Starfysh focuses their attention on improving life for one small part of Haiti called La Gonave. They are actually a separate island, and people there are even poorer than the average Haitian. (Check out their website (Starfysh.org) for some sobering La Gonave facts.
Our story is similar. Our students know they are kids, but they also know that small acts of kindness can make a big difference. To them not trying because the problem is too big is not an option. Nearly one billion people globally without access to clean drinking water is a big problem. Kids at Cherry Creek will be making a difference for some of them. The question is only "How Many?" :)
Finally, I'd like to answer the questions, "Why Starfysh? And "Why Haiti?" The two answers really go hand in hand. You may have heard the story about a boy spending his day at the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean after they were stranded at low tide. With miles of shoreline to cover and millions of starfish stranded, an old man questioned the boy asking why he even bothered. "Even if you work all day, you can't possibly make a difference," the old man said. The boy threw another starfish into the ocean and said, "I just made a difference for that one."
This is the story behind Starfysh's name. Rather than try to solve the problems of the entire world, Starfysh focuses their attention on improving life for one small part of Haiti called La Gonave. They are actually a separate island, and people there are even poorer than the average Haitian. (Check out their website (Starfysh.org) for some sobering La Gonave facts.
Our story is similar. Our students know they are kids, but they also know that small acts of kindness can make a big difference. To them not trying because the problem is too big is not an option. Nearly one billion people globally without access to clean drinking water is a big problem. Kids at Cherry Creek will be making a difference for some of them. The question is only "How Many?" :)