Students raise money for easier access to clean drinking water in Africa

By Kaelin Massey

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — In some parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is a luxury, and some Louisville students are helping increase access to life necessities.

Three Jefferson County Public Schools have partnered with the Ugandan Water Project to help raise money to fund rainwater collection systems. Along with fundraising for the rainwater collection systems, the students from Olmsted Academy South, Westport Middle School, and W.E.B. DuBois Academy are studying the global issue of safe drinking water and pledging to do their part to solve a real-world problem.

“For science, we looked at filters. We looked at different materials to build those filters. We talked about watersheds. We talked about everything, how our community is affected by water, but how other communities are affected as well,” said Kimberly Tuney, English teacher at Olmsted Academy South.

Students also read “A Long Walk to Water,” which follows the journeys of a young girl and boy in Sudan who each travel miles in search of clean water and family. Students from Olmstead South re-enacted the walk by carrying gallons of water around their school track.

The students have raised $20,509, enough to fund the 3,500-gallon water collection system at six schools. The fundraising goal was kickstarted with a $ 10,800 grant from the Louisville Water Foundation.

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