Most people in Canada don’t know what it’s like to have to walk hundreds of kilometres from home to get clean water.
Which is exactly why the WE DAY group at Nechako Valley Secondary put on a water walk at Riverside Park May 1.
Students from NVSS, Evelyn Dickson, W.L. McLeod and dozens of community members carried milk jugs of water around the walkway at Riverside. Pledges collected from teams and individuals will go toward building a school in Ecuador, Anna Pye, teacher and WE DAY coordinator, said.
“The event is not about feeling bad or guilty, but about how thankful and blessed we should all feel,” she said at the event.
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Gr 12 student at NVSS, attended the WE DAY trip to Kenya, Africa last summer. At the water walk she talked about privileges we have as Canadians.
“How many of us took a shower this morning,” she asked a group from W.L. McLeod. “How many of us checked the temperature before stepping in, because that whole time we wasted water some people don’t have any.”
She recited a captivating poem replaying her experiences in Kenya, describing the harsh reality for those living without the luxury of water. A fellow WE DAY member Kylie Lupton, Gr 11, also spoke to her experience.
“The kids in Kenya had huge tubs of water they carried to and from school. We’re lucky we don’t have to walk that far in Vanderhoof, we just go to the tap,” Lupton said.
The Enviro Vikes environmental group at NVSS also presented their Earth Day challenge competition called the Blue Dot Art Contest. Katie Martins, member of the Enviro Vikes, said any students and community members are welcome to enter.
“This is the only earth we have so we need to preserve it,” Martins said at the event.
The contest welcomes art in any form - animation, video, photography, up-cycled art, essay/poem, whole class collaboration - that represents what the theme “This Blue Dot Is Our Only Home” means to you. Deadline for the contest is May 14. Anyone with questions or looking to submit an entry can contact Kathy Russell at krussell@sd91.bc.ca.