St. Alphonsus students raising money for water well in South Sudan

Students at St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Ocean Springs were so inspired after reading a book in class they decided to start a fundraiser to help communities in Africa in need of clean water.

After reading ‘A Long Walk to Water,’ a book that showcases the struggles of Salva, a Sudanese lost boy who is separated from his family, and Nya, a girl who walks eight hours to fetch water from a pond, the students in Mrs. Gammon’s sixth grade class wanted to help those struggling to access clean water. “While reading it, they learned about the struggles others face that water isn’t given to them necessarily. It’s not just there for them, they have to walk for it and often the water they walk for isn’t clean.”

The students decided to look further into ‘Water for South Sudan,’ an organization created by Salva, the character in the book. They decided to come up with different fundraisers to help collect money to go toward a fully sponsored well for communities in South Sudan. Sixth grader Peyton Jordan said, “We know that we will make a difference in someone’s life because when we read the book, we realized how many people don’t have clean water like we do.”

To help reach their goal of $15,000, the students have been hosting numerous fundraisers and also have a website where people can contribute. So far, they have raised $13,000. “We did turkey grams and we raised $830 for that. We did trunk-or-treat which we raised $950. For the beignet booth that we do every year, we raised $500.”

During Catholic Schools Week, the students hit big, raising over $5,000. “Everyday each class brought in money and it was a competition to see who could bring in the most money.”

The deadline for the fundraiser is April 15^th and the students are only $1,821 from their goal. “They are very close to their goal. I have no doubt that they will reach their goal by April. They are actually hoping to get over their goal.”