As part of their participation in the Global Read Aloud, a 5th grade class read A Long Walk to Water. It is the remarkable story of Salva Dut , a Sudanese refugee who was separated from his family when he was 11 and Sudan was in a civil war. He went on to lead thousands of boys across African deserts to safety in refugee camps in Kenya. Eventually, he came to America and lived with a family on the east coast. Incredibly, he reconnected with his family in Sudan after all those years – discovering his father was sick from the dirty water they are forced to drink. As a result he founded a company to drill wells throughout Sudan to provide access to clean water to millions of people.
Three years ago, Salva Dut began the Iron Giraffe Challenge (IGC) to help raise funds towards the purchase of a new drilling rig, or “Iron Giraffe” as villagers call it in the book A Long Walk to Water. Since then, 375 schools from across the United States and seven other countries have raised over $500,000 towards this major equipment purchase. Kilmer Elementary helped contribute close to $200 towards that goal this year.
Participation in the GRA and the organization of the fundraising efforts support the 5th grade Social Studies Power Standards:
Explain the relationship among: economic choices, social lives, political systems, the environment.
Describe the ways in which the movement of people affects families and communities.
Describe the effects of significant inventions or technological innovations on society and the environment.
CCSD21
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