KINGSTON — Consider all the ways you used water today.
Perhaps you showered with it before work or used it to fill your coffee maker. You might have satisfied your thirst with it after exercising, or used it to cook pasta.
Access to clean water is something many of us take for granted because it’s always readily available to us with the push of a button or the turn of a knob.
But what if it wasn't?
What if you had to walk for miles every day just to obtain it? And what if the water you obtained was unsafe and unsanitary?
This is the daily experience of those living in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in South Africa, and on Sunday, students and faculty at Wyoming Seminary gained a small understanding of their struggle for water during the school’s yearly Walk for Water.
In collaboration with the BARKA Foundation, the walk raised funds for the foundation’s construction of a new well in the city of Fada N’gourma in eastern Burkina Faso.
“It’s a great start to Earth Week and water conservation and awareness in general,” said Jill Carrick, faculty coordinator for the walk.
Many streamed the walk on Facebook to further raise awareness for the cause and collect additional funds as donations are being accepted until midnight Monday.
Participants began their nearly 3-mile journey on the Upper School campus and walked along Market Street and to the river, around Kirby Park and back, carrying jugs of water in solidarity with the women and children in Faso who carry as much as 40 pounds of water a day in 113 degree heat.
“Emulating some of that here in a small way helps put you in their shoes and you understand having to do way more than this every single day to get any sort of water,” said Finn Ruderman, a junior at Seminary and the student coordinator for this year’s walk.
The 17-year-old collaborated with students in the environmental club at both the upper and lower school, along with faculty and a BARKA coordinator in Faso, to plan and organize the fundraiser.
“It truly was a team effort. Everyone contributed so much,” he said.
Wyoming Seminary has worked with BARKA in the past.
In 2021, the school raised funds to assist students at the Namoungou School in Fada, who were displaced due to terrorist activity, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though Finn took part in previous walks, he stated that being the coordinator this year helped him develop a deeper sense of appreciation for the privileges he has.
“Participating is wonderful and helping out in any way, but actually being in the process of organizing it and sharing ideas and everything, it makes me feel like I’m playing a larger role. I feel more connected to it,” said Finn.
The mission of the BARKA Foundation is especially meaningful to his family. His father, Adam Ruderman, has been a BARKA board member and volunteer for 17 years.
“Water is scarce in Faso, so when a village gets a well, it changes everything,” Ruderman explained. “It impacts health, clean water, safety, and the economy. All the animals now have water. And all the time wasted walking doesn’t happen.”
Ruderman mentioned that creating a new well will have a price of $10,000.
Alison Brodginski and her two kids, Ben, 9, and Emma, 7, participated in the walk. Ben, a 3rd grader at the lower school, joined the environmental club for the first time this year and said they learned about everything from the importance of recycling to clean drinking water.
When his mom asked if he understood the purpose of the Sunday walk, he nodded eagerly.
“It’s for the sacrifice of what people have to do in Africa. They have to walk about 4 miles with gallons of water,” he explained.
Brodginski was amazed by how educational Seminary’s environmental club has been for her son.
“It really opened their eyes to many issues that we can help support at a local community level and it’s great that they’ve involved the kids in this.”
To donate to Sem’s Walk for Water visit https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Kingston/SemWalkForWater
