By Gia Myers • Posted February 11, 2025

A class of 18 seventh grade Catholic school students in Bucks County are helping people thousands of miles away in East Africa through the “Water for South Sudan” charity event at their school gymnasium to be held Feb. 21.

There will be nine interactive presentations by the students at Our Lady of Grace School in Penndel discussing the lack of access to clean water experienced by people living in South Sudan and eastern Africa.

Students will present their research, display examples of clean versus contaminated water, and display models of wells and drills used to access clean water.

Local civic officials including  state House Rep. Joe Hogan and  state Sen. Frank A. Farry are expected to attend.

Students will perform one of the seven corporal works of mercy — giving drink to the thirsty — by raising awareness of this issue as well as funds that will be donated to the American nonprofit organization, Water for South Sudan.

In addition to the students’ research on the water crisis in South Sudan, seventh grade teacher Kerry Morris said classroom discussions also included talking about “the things that we usually thank God for,” such as families, shelter, and education, “but we often don’t realize that we’re lucky to have access to clean water all the time.”

The students were inspired by the 2010 young adult novel, “A Long Walk to Water” by Newbery Medal-winning author Linda Sue Park, which Morris added to the curriculum this academic year.

Students gained not only reading comprehension skills from reading the book, but it also inspired them to “take actions and actually make a difference in the real world,” Morris said.

The story blends the true story of Salva Dut, separated from his family in 1985 at age 11 during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), and the fictional story of Nya, a young village girl in 2008 who walks eight hours a day to fetch water for her family.

According to the Sudanese American Physician Association, the lack of robust and accessible water supply systems in South Sudan – due to decades of ongoing conflict, political instability and poverty – poses a direct threat to the well-being of these communities.

The result is that many people in South Sudan rely on inadequate and unsafe water sources, such as contaminated ponds.

Dut survived a traumatic childhood despite becoming one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a group of youths who fled their homes to escape the civil war and spent a decade growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp before eventually being resettled in the United States.

These Lost Boys faced many challenges, including starvation, dehydration, attacks by wild animals like lions, crocodile-infested rivers, armed soldiers, and the threat of being forcibly recruited as child soldiers.

Though many of the boys died during this perilous journey, Dut survived and went on to become the founder of Water for South Sudan in 2003. The organization drills wells, delivers hygiene education, and provides sanitation services to South Sudan.

Funds raised at the Feb. 21 charity event will be donated to Water for South Sudan, and students may have the opportunity to visit with Dut and talk with him one-on-one through the “Iron Giraffe Challenge,” a contest for schools sponsored by the nonprofit.

“Even though we’re so far away, we can help without having to travel there,” Morris said of the fundraising effort for South Sudan. “Even if you don’t have the money to donate, spreading the word about it is something that can be beneficial.”

“The goal of education is to make it practical and relevant,” said Our Lady of Grace Principal Kevin Harper.

The students’ projects are helping them “to see the tangible impacts” they’re making and the experience “equips them to be the change they want to see in the world,” he said.

Anyone who wishes to donate can visit the website https://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/donate. Select “Dedicate this donation” and enter “Our Lady of Grace – Penndel” in the Dedicatee’s Name field.