St. John Lutheran School students took steps Wednesday toward helping communities in Africa that don’t have safe drinking water. The school held a Walk for Water event at the Merrill Area Recreation Complex with students in all grade levels participating.
The seventh grade class spearheaded the effort after learning about Africa countries that struggle to find clean drinking water. Wednesday’s three-mile walk/run symbolizes the long distances African children must travel to reach a drinking water supply.
“This was prompted by reading about kids in Africa who have to walk a long ways for water,” said St. John teacher Sherry Koch.
More than 100 students walked or ran the course through the MARC and Council Grounds State Park.
The seventh graders presented the project to the whole student body. Fund raising was an option part of the project, but many students contributed and the school raised more than $1,000 for the World Vision efforts in Africa.
“The kind of cool thing is kids who earn $25 as a donation got a T-shirt and a medal,” Koch said. Many of the students participating Wednesday were wearing their T-shirts.