Rawlinson Road Middle School students in Rock Hill raise money for South Sudan village well

In 1985, war came to a small village in South Sudan where a young Salva Dut lived with his family. Decades later, after years of living as a refugee before finding a home in the United States as one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, Dut is building wells in villages across South Sudan, to give life and hope through his organization, Water for South Sudan.

And thousands of miles and an ocean away, students at Rawlinson Road Middle School are doing all they can to help him.

What started as just a class project with teacher Rhonda Hudak has turned into a school-wide effort to raise the funds necessary to build a well in a village in South Sudan.

“We’re working to build a well in South Sudan with our name on it,” said student Faith Anderson. “With fresh water, the people can have a great life.”

People in South Sudan, especially women and girls, spend hours every day walking to find water for drinking and cooking, said student Karen Wozniak. And when they find water, it is often muddy and contaminated by water-borne diseases.

With a well in the village, she said, people can spend more time working and everyone is healthier and safer.

And, she said in a point that was clearly the most important element to the students, the children could go to school.

“We say we sometimes don’t like going to school but they don’t even get the same chances,” Wozniak said.

The students learned about all this through research and through reading Linda Sue Park’s biography of Salva Dut, “Long Walk to Water.”

“I can’t imagine having to walk miles for water,” said student Ivana McLamb.

To raise the funds for the well, Rawlinson Road students have been doing a lot of different things. Each day at lunch, students sit at a table outside the cafeteria, selling water bottles and flavor packets for $1 each. They made t-shirts with the Water for South Sudan logo, they held bake sales and they’re soliciting local businesses for donations.

And they’ve become expert salespeople.

“We say, ‘Don’t get a soda, get a water,’ and ‘Think about the people,” McLamb said.

Their efforts are tireless, Hudak said.

“I’m trying to teach them the power of one, the power of helping others,” she said.

And it seems to be working.

“It’s not just for drinking water, it will build more opportunities,” said student Philip Bronola.

Each well built by Water for South Sudan costs between $10,000 and $15,000 to construct. A school gets its name on a well when it gives $5,000, Hudak said. Rawlinson Road is approaching the $3,000 mark.

But the partnership between the village and Rawlinson Road won’t end when the well is done, Hudak said.

“Once we have our well, then we’re going to do whatever we can to help them build a school,” she said.

Rachel Southmayd •  803-329-4072