Where water runs uphill for Africa…!
UPDATE!
On Thursday 16th July, Senesi and Mariama Fawundu were able to visit Marksbury, and thank the children personally.
Senesi, who is MP for Pujehun District, Sierra Leone, spoke at the school assembly, and explained that the money raised would be used to provide a well at the primary school in the village of Dia, and that he would like to encourage the two schools to build links together. Dia primary school is located outside the village, so the children currently have no access to clean water while they are at school.
Jupiter Class (year 5 and 6) of Marksbury C of E Primary School (Map), near Bath, carried as much water as they could manage up and down a hill in the village, to raise funds for Alive & Well!
As part of the Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS), which is a bit like the Duke of Edinburgh award for primary aged children, the children in year 5/6 had to do a community-related event and they decided to raise money for Alive & Well (a charity who bring clean, safe drinking water to communities in desperate need of it).
On Monday 15th June, after weeks of planning and organisation, all of the children and staff challenged themselves to see how many litres they could carry up and down the hill in Marksbury, known as ‘the dipper’. It was a great team event and the children were really able to get an understanding of what it must be like for children in Africa who have to carry the water they need each day.
The children managed to carry an amazing 3,590 litres of water, with each lap walked being 240 metres. They then calculated that between them they had travelled over 86km during the afternoon. They even got adults and other children from the school involved. It was a baking hot day but they still carried on and most of them got soaking wet because the water containers kept leaking!
We have now heard that the children raised £1,172.27, which is absolutely fabulous!
Thank you! From Alive & Well and from Jupiter class (Year 5 and 6), for supporting their wonderful fundraising efforts!
And thank you from the children in Barri Chiefdom, Sierra Leone, who will now have access to clean water.
