The festivities that surround the end of the school year are in full rigor here at The Haverford School. Field days, class trips, final presentations, move up days, and graduations bring a sense of finality to the academic year. Many of our prospective high school graduates remark about the Walk for Water as they reflect on their years at The Haverford School. The significance of the event is not lost to time, it is clearly etched in the hearts and minds of those young men that previously “Walked the Walk”.
We kicked off our campaign for H2O for Life on World Water Day with our annual Drop in the Bucket Brigade. The second grade boys, accompanied by the Upper School Service-Learning Team, visited various classrooms and clubs in the Upper School Division to collect coins to help “Make a Change” in the lives of our peers in Africa. When the boys entered the classrooms with their little buckets, the upperclassmen immediately remarked about their experience and how memorable it was for them to walk those 3 miles carrying water. Afterwards, the boys visited the classrooms and offices in the Lower School to collect any money that the Lower School community brought in to support our efforts. Preschoolers waited patiently to drop their pennies into the buckets while fifth grade boys combed their lockers looking for any “change” they could contribute. The second grade boys enthusiastically took their buckets back to the classrooms and sorted and counted the money they had collected. They were shocked to learn that they had accumulated over $900 in one half hour! Momentum was building…
Then, on an unseasonably cold, cloudy day in April, surrounded by the Haverford community, the second grade boys jubilantly entered the track ready to embark on this long anticipated event. The first lap was quick and easy but as the mile marker slowly advanced many boys began to tire and complain. The water was heavy, their feet hurt, their shoulders ached, and they wanted to sit down… but they persevered. The community supported them from the sidelines, cheering them on while older students joined in, offering to carry the water so the younger students could take a break.
As the final lap came into view the boys experienced a sense of renewal, the walk became a run to the finish line. Amidst the cheers and jubilation, we were reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a community and attend a school where water is but a step away.
The Walk for Water has become an iconic right of passage for our second grade boys. They are among the youngest students to participate in such a global service-learning project. The goal is to develop empathy for children who can’t attend school because they must walk for water to survive. We believe that education is critical for change AND water is a basic human right, not a privilege. No child should ever have to choose between the two. The Walk for Water at Haverford was born from that belief.
The 2024 H2O for Life campaign at The Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania has for all intents and purposes come to a successful conclusion. I am proud to tell you that with the support of the entire Haverford community, the second grade team has achieved the goal that we set forth; to provide clean water access to Kutamba Primary School in Uganda. Enclosed you will find donations in the amount of $8,853. The online donations put our total contributions raised to date at $8,978 which far surpasses the goal of $3,874 pledged!
Until next year, in the somewhat altered words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, enthusiastic children can change the world!”
Blessings on your continued success,
– The Second Grade Team at The Haverford School
