June 9: Over 2,000 students participate in Water Walk for Sudbury Minga for Maasai

Over 2,000 students in Rainbow Schools will participate in a Water Walk in support of Sudbury Minga for Maasai and Free the Children on Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 1:30 pm. The event will take place at Cyril Varney Public School, Algonquin Road Public School, Long Lake Public School, Northeastern Elementary School, Carl A. Nesbitt Public School, Wembley Public School and Churchill Public School.

Me to We speakers visited students earlier this year and challenged them to come up with an idea to make change. Students will walk up to three kilometers with water on their heads. This will give them some insight into how children their age acquire water to survive each and every day.

“This event, organized by students and led by students, is raising awareness of global issues, building good citizens, nurturing leadership skills and empowering our youth to be agents of change,” said Norm Blaseg, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board.  “Our students are putting into practice character traits that we embrace in Rainbow Schools such as empathy, responsibility and co-operation. They are thinking globally and acting locally.”

To promote the event, students from Cyril Varney Public School developed a PowerPoint presentation that they delivered at participating schools. Student leaders from each school then took ownership of the event, from planning the walk, to advertising the event, and assisting in the collection of pledges.

Proceeds from the event will support Sudbury Minga for Maasai, which is assisting a community in Pimbiniet, Kenya by building one-classroom schools for Grades 1 to 8; supporting teachers and salaries for one year; providing teaching resources, texts and furnishings for classrooms; providing a cook house and nutritional lunch programs for all students; helping to improve health and academic success; supporting a mobile medical clinic and community gardens; building water and sanitation systems including a borehole, hand washing stations and latrines; providing health care and hygiene education; and mobilizing women’s groups, the nuclei of families and Maasai culture, through the development of small businesses and micro-financing projects.

Students have applied for matching corporate donations through The Big Dreamers Foundation and have been successful in acquiring $3,000 to support their initiative.

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Media Contact:

Ron Hodkinson, Principal, Cyril Varney Public School,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-566-2424.