Summer reading for Geography, History, and Culture is A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. After reading the book, complete a blog entry.
Instructions
1. Please select ONE of the questions below and contribute a thorough, thoughtful response. Your response should be around 250 words long, but can be shorter or longer, if you do a good job.
2. Support your thoughts with evidence from the book and historical evidence. You can also add evidence from current events.
3. Please cite evidence from the book by including the page number in parentheses after a quote or paraphrased passage.
4. You are also invited to reply to fellow students' posts. Please keep in mind the need to be respectful in all of our conversations with one another.
We recommend that you write your comment in Drive first, and then post to Blogger, in case of technical difficulties. If you have difficulty posting your comment, make sure you are signed into Google Drive. You can also email Mrs. Blyth or Ms. Ong-Dean for assistance.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Community Awareness
Water is central to everyone’s life, and both Nya and Salva have a deep connection to it. Consider the well at the end of the book. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, how else will the well benefit the community?
Throughout the book, both Nya and Salva went through harsh times to find clean water to survive. At the end of the book, Salva helps Nya’s village to build a well, so the community can have a better way of living. Besides having clean water and schooling opportunities, the well has many other uses. It’s much closer to the village so the women don’t need to walk a long distance. Instead of walking eight hours, they are able to spend their day learning new skills such as, trading, farming, fishing, and much more to make their village grow quicker. The well provides clean water and they can use it to farm and trade with other villages. In chapter 18, page 113, it says “People would come miles around to fetch the good clean water.” meaning they would have more newcomers because everybody wants to live near freshwater. The newcomers will be able to help expand the village. Before they built the well, a lot of people got sick because of drinking the dirty pond water but now that they have fresh water less people will get sick. There will be more people that can help out now that the well is closer people don’t have to spend their whole day getting water from the pond. After they expand their village, they can start to plumb and connect the well to have showers, wash hands, flush the toilet, and for hoses. Villagers can also use the well water to wash their clothes. Overall the well has many benefits to Nya’s community.
All life revolves around water. You need it to survive, to function properly in order to keep you health and overall body condition in order. Water is the one thing that connects every living thing in this world without fail, the most valuable asset that is needed to connect us all to this planet. In the book “A long walk to water,” by Linda Sue Park, Nya and Salva have very deep connections to water. Deeper than most people, with a meaning both physically and theoretically. It was harder for Nya to access water for herself and the rest of her family on a daily basis, costing hours and hours of painstaking trudging and only to receive muddy and dangerous liquid that causes diseases and horrible sickness to those of all ages who drink it in large amounts. She has never had access to clean water like we have, until that well was built in her village. That day everything changed for her. Salva, coming from a family that was better off in his village, didn’t have as hard of time finding pure, clear drinking water. Or at least that view was shared in the book--but we don’t know that for sure. However, during his travels away from his parents during the war, Salva faced hardships that many of us can scarcely imagine. Limits to food and water, horrible discomfort, and pain. He learned at a young age just how important water is when it comes to continuous survival, and after he earned his education in America he dedicated his life to the ‘Water for Sudan’ project. Other than bring actual water to the community, the well will continue to prove that even though there are disagreements between groups of people and different races, all it takes is one brave person to overcome them. All you need is the strength and belief that everyone is equal, and that everyone deserves the basic needs to live in this world. Salva showed that each time a well was built in a different village than his own. – Written by Jillian Moll
A Long Walk To Water’s author, Linda Sue Park, illustrates how important water is to both Nya and Salva’s situation as they both have a deep connection to it by their need of it. For Nya, having water in her village will allow her and her sister to change their lives significantly as they will be able to go to school instead of walking four to six hours a day to the pond to bring water home to their family. “With the well here no one will have to go to the pond anymore. So all the children will be able to go to school.”(chapter 17, page 103, Southern Sudan, 2009) Having clean water will improve the health for all the people in the village. With a well in their community it will give them the opportunity to have a Marketplace, possibly a Clinic, as well as more jobs and other conveniences. Salva who was one of the “Lost Boys” lacked water throughout his long journey in the dry and arid desert. People suffered and died from lack of water on the journey. After years away from his family Salva discovered his Father in a hospital suffering from a water borne illness. “No longer lost, and with a new determination to help those like his father who had fallen ill because of unsafe drinking water, Dut returned to the United States. In 2003, he founded Water for South Sudan (WSS), a nonprofit organization that aims to provide access to clean, safe water and improve hygiene and sanitation practices in areas of great need.” (UNICEF USA, December 5, 2018) This was significant because Nya’s village received one of the wells from Salva’s organization. In conclusion, Nya and Salva lacked good clean water during the story "A Long Walk To Water", but with the help of many generous people Salva and his foundation were able to bring healthy well water to the small communities in Sudan.
In 2003, Salva Dut organized a project called Water for South Sudan, and it brought many Sudanese communities in poverty water wells with clean water and schools including boys and girls for the people of the village. This gave save and easy access to clean water to the people who would otherwise have to walk for eight hours in order to get a gourd full of muddy, unsanitary water and an opportunity to finally receive a proper education. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities to the people of Nya’s village, the well and school provided many other things for the community. The clean water the well provides gives the community proper sanitation. The people can now wash their hands with clean water, have a drink at water fountains, and build bathrooms, or latrines. As mentioned in the “Sanitation Project” section in the Water for South Sudan website, building latrines and water fountains would prevent the spread of disease, and help students focus in school instead of having to “...miss lessons because they had to walk 30 minutes on average to find drinking water or to relieve themselves in the bush (WSS Sanitation).” If Nya’s village had had this well built before, Akeer wouldn’t have fallen ill due to the unsanitary water she drank everyday. Then their family had to go through extra lengths to boil and clean the water they had for her. When the well was built, it also allowed many things to prosper and be built. As the book “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park States, “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy [food] and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday -- a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill. It was the well that was bringing the village all these good things (A Long 113).” The well offered a source of clean water and the school offered education opportunities for not only Nya’s village but others in the area that would benefit from it. The school would provide opportunities to go to college, and even job opportunities for those who want to become teachers in Nya’s village. The water well would provide convenient and safe access to clean water and sanitation. When Nya’s village was given water, life prospered. Life cannot live without water, and I am glad that Nya and her village was finally given the opportunity. It saddens me that Salva, Nya, and the country of Sudan was only just given this asset that improved their lives so much.
At the end of the book, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the protagonist Salva starts the Water for South Sudan project which is intended to bring clean, fresh water for the people of Sudan. One of the villages that were greatly impacted was Nya’s village. Before the well was built, she had to walk for hours and hours to find water. Nya had to battle the heat and thorns. (pg. 1 and pg.8) She had to do this for 7 months. (pg. 20) Nya’s family would move to a camp near a lake when it stopped raining and the pond dried up. Fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka prevented Nya’s family from moving year round. (pg. 26) Then her sister, Akeer got sick from the dirty, muddy water from the holes that were dug up near the lake. (pg. 45) Because of the well built, Nya can go to school and drink clean water. But those are not the only benefits of having a well providing fresh water. Nya’s village can have good sanitation. They can finally wash their hands, and take proper showers. Their will also be less sickness and clean water will prevent water poisoning. Their will also be more healthier people with longer life spans because they are drinking fresh water so less people will have to go to hospitals because of water poisoning like Salva’s dad did and he barely survived the journey to the hospital. (pg. 106) More access to clean water like these wells will prevent fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka which has killed many people and has put fear into families like Nya’s.
In the end of the book "A Long Walk To Water" by Linda Sue Park, Salva, a young man who has been in the harsh conditions of Sudan, and wants to give back to his country, helps fund a well for a small village in Sudan where water is much needed. Besides the well providing lots of clean water and schooling opportunities, the well can help in town growth, which can be split into many categories, including helping with villagers time, helping with trade, and more job specialization. First of all, the town can benefit from the well because of villagers time. Before the well was built, villagers had to walk hours to places where they could get small amounts of muddy, warm water. But now that the well was built, they wouldn't even have to walk out of their town to get water that is cleaner or cooler than the water they used to get from walking hours away. Another way the well can help is with trading. Now that the villagers have so much clean, cool water, they can use some to trade for other items like clothing, food, and any other essentials that they might need. And as mentioned before, the well will save lots of time, and now that they have a surplus of it, they can use it for trading. Lastly, the well can help with job specialization. And as mentioned many times before, the villagers will have a lot more time than they did before. This time can also be used for job specialization. Villagers can learn how to learn new skills, like weaving, cooking, and writing. These skills can all be used in trade and will help with the villages trading as well. The well itself could also bring jobs due to it needing to be maintained every so often. All of these things the town benefits from all tie back to one thing, which is growth. Trading, job specialization, and time, will all lead to the towns growth, and with this it, the town will be able to become more wealthy, and overall be able to live a better life. In the end what Salva did for Nya's village is one of the best things that could've happened to their village, and the well helped them in almost every way imaginable.
Water is a very important part of the book A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park. Salva and Nya have faced many struggles relating to water including walking for miles each day, running out of water, having to walk in the burning hot dessert for days with only a gourd of water, etc. At the end of the book, Salva helps Nya’s village build a well so that they don’t have to walk miles every day to get water. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, the well has many other values. It is a symbol of hope because the well reminds you that there are many kind people in this world. Salva was from the Dinka tribe which was enemies with the Nuer tribe, which was Nya’s tribe. He was kind and saw that the Nuer needed help so he aided them even though they were supposed to be enemies. In addition to being a symbol of hope, some other uses for the well could be that the village could use the water for farming, cleaning and plumbing. The village can use the clean water to water the crops now that they have enough water. They can also use the water to clean their food. For example, if they had a fruit or vegetable they could make sure that it doesn’t have bugs and dirt on it. They could connect the plumbing to houses and use it for showering, washing hands, and toilets . The well can also provide clean water for the animals in the village. This would result in healthier animals which leads to healthier food. People also wouldn’t get sick from drinking dirty water which means that there would be more people helping the community. Overall, a well benefits Nya’s community in many great ways. -Ella Lee-Guest
In the novel, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the two protagonists, Salva and Nya, explore how water is essential for both survival and for putting aside their differences.One of the protagonists, Salva, had to walk through dry deserts to escape the war, even without water or food sometimes. Years later, after many refugee camps and searching for his family, Salva was able to move to America and live with a new family. However, he later had heard that his father was found in a hospital around Southern Sudan.Salva had found out that his Father’s illness had to do with years of drinking contaminated water. “And an idea came to him-an idea of what he might be able to do to help the people of Sudan.”(chapter 17, page 107) This is significant because it shows that Salva had been inspired to do something about the water in Sudan. The other protagonist, Nya, had to walk hours every day to gather water for her family. When the well was built in Nya’s town, not only would it provide clean water and schooling opportunities, but it would also benefit the town as a whole. Because of the steady income of water, the water could be used to farm. This would result in lots of food for the town to eat. “There was even talk of a clinic someday - a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill.” (chapter 18, page 113) This quote shows that the well can contribute more than just clean water and schooling opportunities. Also, the water wouldn’t just benefit the town, but outside communities as well. People would come from far distances to drink and use clean water. This meant trading opportunities but also something much bigger. Diversity. New people meant new allies which could teach and spread their different ways of living or other things too. Different people from different places and tribes could learn to get along. Just like how Salva was the one that built the well in Nya’s town even though his tribe(the Dinka) are enemies with Nya's tribe(the Nuer). The well provides many opportunities, opportunities that will make the community a better place.
I liked how you explained how Salva had to go through many hardships to get water. Overall, good job in the structure of your paragraph and how you wrote it. Also, you have a good opening and closing sentence. Good job! -Ella Lee-Guest
Nya and Salva have a deep connection to water, and the well at the end of the book shows just how much water can positively affect a community in great ways. The well at the end of the book, built for Nya’s community, not only gives clean water and schooling opportunities, but also gives the people a chance to make their community a grounded, supported village. No longer the women had to walk to the pond to get water, meaning they would have similar opportunities for jobs like the men. “All the children, Papa? The girls, too?” (Nya asked this to her father after he told her they were building a school, chapter 17, page 103). They talked about making plans for a marketplace, so people can buy and sell vegetables, meat and other goods. This would help people get jobs and help others feed their families. The village even talked about making a medical clinic someday - a hospital so people like Nya’s little sister Akeer, who became ill from contaminated water, could stay healthy. Every person needs food, clean water, schooling, and medical care; meaning Nya’s village can expand and thrive instead of having to survive. “It was the well that was bringing the village all these good things.” (Nya, chapter 18, page 113). And with the fact that Salva, a Dinka man, organized building the well, will soften the harsh feelings between the Dinka tribes and the Nuer tribes. Overall, the well at the end of the book will help the community thrive with clean water, food, medical care, schooling, and possibly peace between the Dinka and Nuer tribes. Evangelina Amato
Everyone needs water to survive and both Nya and Salva didn’t have it when they most desperately needed it. The well changed their entire world, benefiting Nya’s community in many ways. The well not only provided clean water and made schooling available for the girls, but it also gave them the ability to meet other tribes, trade resources other than water, expand the community, and lessen sicknesses and diseases. Because of the well, people came from other tribes for the clean water and trading could be easier. The community might also benefit because other tribes and people would want to protect the Nuer because they would not want the water source to be destroyed by the war. Also, instead of needing to travel when their water source was low the Nuer could expand their nation by staying put. With the extra water they could practice better cleanliness and that would cause there to be less sicknesses and diseases. Fewer people would end up like Nya’s sister or Salva’s dad, who became ill because of poor water, because the water would be clean and, if need be, there would be enough to boil it to a count of 200, long enough to make clean. Water is a key to survival and in the book, A Long Walk To Water, those who most desperately needed it didn’t have access to it. In South Sudan, wells provided clean water to many communities and gave them what pond couldn’t.
In the book “A Long Walk to Water,” by Linda Sue Park, both Salva and Nya faced obstacles in order to have access to drinkable water. They would walk for hours at a time just to find clean water. Towards the end of the book, Salva spends time working to help build Nya’s village a well. This was a huge deal for Nya’s village. In chapter 18, page 113, Nya said, “The well would change their {the villager’s} lives in many ways.” The well would provide clean water and schooling opportunities, among many other benefits. For example, the well will make it so women no longer spend their days walking to fetch water. Now, the women may use their time on other useful things to help the village advance. They can learn new skills, such as how to properly treat someone when they are ill. This way if somebody is sick they won’t have to travel far to get help, like Salva’s father did. Also, the water can be used in many ways other than for drinking. Villagers will now be able to bathe properly, helping them stay healthy. Yet another way the well benefits the village is through farming. With so much water, it is very easy to plant an abundance of crops to trade for other resources. The village will expand with its new advancements. Most of all, the well will bring people together. More people from other places will want to be near to the well, and so the village’s population will grow. The village will become more diverse and accepting, since “no one was ever to be refused water” (chapter 18, page 113). In conclusion, the well that Salva helped organize will benefit Nya’s village in numerous ways.
In this book “A Long Walk To Water”, by Linda Sue Park, Nya and Salva were part of a life that depended on the slightest amount of water in order to live. So for a well to be built for people is something that is huge for the people who need it. For Nya, she had to walk miles in order to get water which in the end wasn’t even clean. This water would eventually dry up every year and would leave them to have to look for even more somewhere else. They always retreated to a like that even then was dried up but under the mud, still contained water but it was very minimal. The well at the Lake is something that would change the life of Nya and her family. There would be no more long walks to get a small amount of dirty water. Now she could get a large amount of clean water. Nya and her tribe went to a lake that was also occupied by their rival tribe, the Dinka tribe. On pages 33 and 34 of this book, it says that “No one from Nya’s family had been hurt or killed by the Dinka. But she knew other families in the village who had lost loved ones this way.” With the conflicts going on between the Dinka tribe and the Nuer tribe, the well full of clean water is something that can bring them together and create less conflicts. The well is something that is so important in Sudan and will make it easier to access water for the people living there, and it will also bring them together.
Community Awareness Water is central to everyone’s life, and both Nya and Salva have a deep connection to it. Consider the well at the end of the book. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, how else will the well benefit the community?
Last year's main topic was water. The middle school spent all year raising money to build a well in south sudan. Last year, before reading this book, did not think much about how the well would change their lives. In the book, “A Long walk to water” in chapters 14-17, it describes how much the well would change their lives. All the children could spend their time getting an education instead of hauling water back to the village. Sinch the well provides fresh water, many illnesses were eliminated so the people of the Nuer Tribe could live happier, longer and more educated lives. Before the well was Placed in Nay’s village, many people including her sister Akeer. The family will not longer need to move during the dry season. Reading this book really made me aware of how easy our lives are. I will now think about how lucky we are to live in a place where we have fresh, clean water.
Water is the one and only thing on Earth that is able to connect all living inhabitants on Earth. Water is vital to the survival of all races that reside on Earth. Without water, all living things are unable to function properly. Water connects us all. In the book “A Long Walk To Water,” by Linda Sue Park, the connection to water and its significance to life is further developed as the readers catch a glimpse of the life of two young people that lived in Sudan, their hardships, and how they persevered. Towards the end of the book, Salva returns to Sudan to help the villages by building wells to provide clean water. One of the villages that Salva helped was the village that Nya lived in. Not only does the well in Nya’s village provide clean water and schooling but, it also provides better crops, cleaner and healthier villagers, because of the clean water, medical clinics, and a marketplace, because they no longer have to walk long distances for water, as stated in “Chapter 18 page 113” when the narrator said, “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday---a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill.” In conclusion the well provided many benefits along with clean water and schooling.
At the end of the book, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the protagonist Salva starts the Water for South Sudan project which is intended to bring clean, fresh water for the people of south Sudan. One of the villages that were greatly impacted was Nya’s village. Before the well was built, she had to walk for hours and hours to find water. Nya had to battle the heat and thorns (pg. 1 and pg.8) and she had to do this for 7 months. (pg. 20) Nya’s family would move to a camp near a lake when it stopped raining and the pond dried up. (pg. 26) Fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka prevented Nya’s family from moving year round. (pg. 26) Then her sister, Akeer got sick from the dirty, muddy water from the holes that were dug up near the lake. (pg. 45) Because of the well built, Nya can go to school and drink clean water. But those are not the only benefits of having a well providing fresh water. Nya’s village can have good sanitation. They can finally wash their hands, and take proper showers. Their will also be less sickness and clean water will prevent water poisoning. Their will also be more healthier people with longer life spans because they are drinking fresh water so less people will have to go to hospitals because of water poisoning like Salva’s dad did and he barely survived the journey to the hospital. (pg. 106) More access to clean water like these wells will prevent fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka which has killed many people and has put fear into families like Nya’s. The well will make Nya’s village more advanced. On pg. 113, it says, “In a few more days, the school will be finished. Nya and Dep and Akeer would all be able to go to school, along with the other children. Next year there would be a marketplace where villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday-a medical clinic so they wouldn’t have to walk so far.” This means that the children can become educated because of the school and their will be more commerce because of the marketplace. The nearest clinic for Nya’s family was a few days of a difficult walk (pg. 39 and 40) so medication for illness will be more accessible. Nya’s village will also one day be able to generate hydroelectric power. Lots of their problems have been caused by the lack of water. Now most of their problems are solved because of the well and Nya and her village will have more opportunities that were once only dreamt of.
At the end of the book “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park, Salva Dut wants to help his home Country of Southern Sudan, and starts a project Water for Sudan Inc. to help provide fresh and clean water for communities in need. In this Book both characters- Salva and Nya faced obstacles on a daily just to get clean water for their families and community. Salva and Nya had to walk for hours at a time to provide clean drinking water. Toward the end of the book Salva has moved to New York, United States, and has received a supportive and loving family and an education. As a young adult Salva wanted to help the country of South Sudan. The water well would help villages and communities to be able to get water and an education without facing so many obstacles. One example of a benefit would be that more people would live, because water is one thing that all living organisms need. So as a result of getting fresh water more often would be that the health of children and adults would be longer because they are given drinkable water. Another benefit would be that more children and young adults will get more opportunities because they are given the option of a good education. More children can pursue dreams, and get more opportunities because of the education. Women and young girls will also be given the chance to help their villages in others ways, instead of spending all day getting water. But the most important benefit a well would give would be connection. This well would bring communities together, like in the book Salva and Nya were from two rivaling villages, and Salva wanted to help even them. In this story the people of Nuer thanked a young man from their former rivaling village for giving them the opportunity of fresh water. These are some of the benefits that a well would provide for a community.
Water is central to everyone’s life and both Nya and Salva have a deep connection to it. Consider the well at the end of the book. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, how else will the well benefit the community?
The building of the water well and school provided the Nuer community with necessary life sustaining resources and opportunity. The well was a treasured resource for the Nuer and provided a convenient method to get a bucket of clean water. Unfortunately for Nya, the well was not built early enough to prevent Nya’s little sister Akeer from getting ill. Because of her illness, Nya, Akeer and their family move to a camp that was in proximity to a larger but dirtier pond. The school also provided the Nuer children with education and skills. With education, Nuer children could improve their wage earning capacity and provide needed functions to their own community.
By involving the Nuer community in the building of the well and the school, Salva and this workers taught Nuer community members new skills and talents. This inspired the Nuer community to innovate and to invest in their own community. Through Salva’s teaching the Nuer building skills and providing them with access to education, the Nuer could help themselves by building the needed buildings to house schools, wells, markets, and medical clinics and by gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to become teachers, architects and doctors. Further, the Nuer could “pass it on” to other impoverished communities. In this model, the poor and disadvantaged, such as the Nuer, can help themselves and each other so that every human being can access basic resources to live and the opportunity to improve their situation.
The book “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park, is tied together by one vital resource, water. Water was the general source of connection that connected people of different culture and tribe, and is what changed both Nya and Salva’s lives, two different people more than twenty years apart. Nya fetched water daily, as well as the other girls in her Nuer village. This was the main reason she could not attend school, because she needed to fetch water to support her family. When the well in her village is made, her life changes forever. There was not only an opportunity for fresh, clean water and education, there would be a marketplace built where villages can sell and buy daily necessities, but there was also a possibility it a clinic. Having clean water can lead to better health, which can lead to a better lifestyle for people in the Nya’s village. “Only two days earlier, Akeem had complained busily and at length about the pains in her stomach…. Nya knew many people who suffered from the same illness,” (pg. 39). Not only was the hospital far and take several days walk, many people didn’t want to take the risk of completing the journey. But with the clinic, the lives of so many can change for the better. “A medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was sick.” (Pg. 113). A marketplace can also benefit the village greatly. A marketplace can mean fresher food, more produce and an opportunity to earn money. It was the well that will bring these good things to the people, and it is the water changes everyone’s lives. It is also the water that tied these people together, despite the war and if they are Nuer or Dinka. - Victoria Li
In A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, the well that was built in Nya’s village is a huge opportunity for them. With all the water, not only will they make a school for boys and girls, they will be able to make farms and raise animals. The kids will be able to play and have fun, instead of just walking to a pond or lake every day. They will not have to move to the lake in the middle of the summer. This will allow them to build bigger houses, have more possessions, and they won't get hurt by the Dinka, because they won’t have to go near Dinka territory. They will be able to hunt much safer, because they are in their own territory. They also may be able to have doctors there because of the water and school. It will be the perfect spot for a trade center too. More people will come to the village to live there. It is amazing how much a place depends on water, and when there is water there, it flourishes and many more people live there. It was very nice for Salva to build wells in other territories, not just helping his own people with their water crisis. It was a very good ending when Salva met Nya, because of how surprised Nya was when she realized that the person who helped her people was Dinka. “Why would a Dinka bring water to us?” she wondered aloud (page 114). The world will be a wonderful place if everyone looked past their differences to help each other like Salva did.
In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, the well in Nya’s town will help create a more diverse economy and marketplace and also help to improve agriculture. At the end of the book, the school in Nya’s town is almost complete. As a result, the school will need to employ teachers. Because the teachers will no longer be able to farm, they will have to buy crops in the marketplace. Nya refers to the marketplace when she says “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods” (pg 112). With the development of the marketplace, there will be a more diverse economy as different jobs are created. The people would not be able to have these diverse jobs if they had to spend a great amount of time getting water every day. Nya also mentions the medical clinic when she says “There was even talk of a clinic someday-a medical clinic, so they wouldn't have to walk so far to get help.” This is another example of how the well will benefit the community. The well will also provide agricultural benefits. Instead of having to use dirty water to grow their crops, they will be able to use clean water. Using clean water in agriculture will make a surplus of better tasting, healthier crops that will sell for more in the market. -Zach Von Behren
How did the well benefit the community? By Liam Spieker
In the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, the well that Salva built in Nya's village is a huge opportunity for Nya and everyone else in her village. Not only does the huge well offer Nya to be able to not walk miles for water but she also can get an education. While the well gives water to the people in Nya's village, It can also bring trade and new things to Nya's village. As new people come in for water, they can exchange new things for water. In the beginning of the book, Nya can’t go to school because she is constantly going to the lake and back to collect water for her family. Nya works hard everyday to collect the dirty, unsanitary water from the lake. When Nya’s sister Akeem gets sick because she had been drinking the dirty water, Nya’s family can’t decide if they want to travel the super long path to the medical clinic or not. Later, Salva begins to build wells in his own hometown. Salva also builds a well in the rival village of his hometown, changing the lives of everyone in Nya’s village, causing peace between the two villages. In the end, Salva benefits communities all over Sudan.
Owen Golding All animals and humans on this earth live by drinking water, and if you don’t have any water then you’ll have an unpleasant surprise awaiting. In the book A Long Walk to Water, both Nya and Salva need water but water doesn’t just mean living for them. Water is a source in their native homelands that will break the civilization down or bring it up. At the end of the book Salma builds a well, which would start to be the main water source so that nobody had to walk far to get water from a natural source. If nobody has to take up time in their day to walk and go get water, then use the water, then get more water people will be able to do a lot more extra activities. For example in the very end of the book Salma and his crew also build a school so that the kids can learn instead of having to go to the spring to get water. Even though the well in Nya’s village already has so many benefits, there are a lot more such as being able to farm. If people can get their water from a source that is seconds away they would be able to water crops more often which overtime would make the crops grow faster, which leads me into my second point, trading. If people were able to grow double, or maybe even triple the crops, there could be a chance for extra crops, which they would be able to sell and trade. Not only could the well make it easier for food and trade but it can also save time in peoples days. People could learn a lot of extra skills and even extracurricular activities such as sports, fishing, and schooling. My final point why a good source of water in the village will help is the villagers health. For example, if people would get sick and you needed water for a cure or dehydration and there was no good source of water you would have to walk for a long time just to find water and it might have already been too late. In conclusion having a source of water in the village at all times is a very good thing to have
In the book, A Long Walk To Water, by Linda Sue Park, both Nya and Salva have a very deep connection to water. In her impoverished community, most girls, including Nya, must make the long trek to the mud filled pond. The pond is filled with dirt and cow feces, because the cows graze nearby. Catching a disease from this water is very likely so Nya’s mother must boil the water before it is drinkable. The long trek to the only water source nearby takes aways Nya’s opportunity to be schooled. The need for clean water changes her life. When he was a young boy, he fled his family and home because of war. As Salva made his way to camps along the borders of the countries surrounding Sudan, he struggled to survive. Getting food and water was beyond just a burden, but Salva never gave up. He lost many people he loved, but that wouldn't stop him either. When he got to the camps, overpopulation made it hard for everyone to get the same share of food and water, but Salva never gave up. Once he had the opportunity to help, he got straight to it. At the end of the book, Salva organizes the building of a well in the middle of Nya’s community, providing easy access to clean water. Slava gave back what he knew people needed most, community. By placing a well, he helped people to let go of their worries about clean water, allowed girls like Nya go to school, made illnesses disappear, and overall brought people together.
In the book A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, both characters had a struggle in the story trying to survive, a large part of that was that they had no access to clean water. It becomes such a large part of Nya’s life that her little sister almost dies. Not only does the well, that Salva raised money to build, provide clean water and an opportunity for the children to go to school and get a good education, but it symbolizes the first step toward peace between Dinka’s and Nuer’s. The well can be used as a meeting area when people from other or the same tribes go to get water they can make new friends and get culturally educated. On page 112 in the last chapter an old man said, “This is where we use to gather for our bonfire celebrations. I have been sitting on this ground my whole life. And all those years I never knew that I was sitting on top of good water.” This can show that the well can be used as celebration space like it was when the bonfires were held there. In addition having clean water will allow other community services such as health clinics. The well that Salva build for Nya’s community was more than just a source of clean fresh water.
In the book A Long Walk To Water by: Linda Sue Park we see 20 year old Salva putting others before himself by helping remote villages all over South Sudan gain one of the most important elements needed for survival, clean water. Salva and The Lost Boys gain deep connections to others in need of water because of what they had to experience when they were little. Running from war your whole life isn't the ideal childhood but looking back on his own personal life experiences from when Salva was eleven, made him realize that he was not the only one itching for clean fresh water to drink. Within that realization sparked determination in his eyes and then emerged the Water For South Sudan non profit corporation to help others around the world gain fresh drinking water. From then on Salva and The Lost Boys installed a total of over 350 clean wells in the past 16 years. Their very first well Water For South Sudan established was actually in the same exact village as Salva’s Dad used to live in before he past away However when his first well was built Salva noticed something new, he and his crew didn't just help build a well, he actually helped build a community. A community that came together to collect water, trade, and make friends. This community could from then on have many markets, stores, and plenty of people all thanks to a few drops of hope that Salva had to share with the world.
Throughout the book, both Nya and Salva
ReplyDeletewent through harsh times to find clean water to survive. At the end of the book, Salva helps Nya’s village to build a well, so the community can have a better way of living. Besides having clean water and schooling opportunities, the well has many other uses. It’s much closer to the village so the women don’t need to walk a long distance. Instead of walking eight hours, they are able to spend their day learning new skills such as, trading, farming, fishing, and much more to make their village grow quicker. The well provides clean water and they can use it to farm and trade with other villages. In chapter 18, page 113, it says “People would come miles around to fetch the good clean water.” meaning they would have more newcomers because everybody wants to live near freshwater. The newcomers will be able to help expand the village. Before they built the well, a lot of people got sick because of drinking the dirty pond water but now that they have fresh water less people will get sick. There will be more people that can help out now that the well is closer people don’t have to spend their whole day getting water from the pond. After they expand their village, they can start to plumb and connect the well to have showers, wash hands, flush the toilet, and for hoses. Villagers can also use the well water to wash their clothes. Overall the well has many benefits to Nya’s community.
All life revolves around water. You need it to survive, to function properly in order to keep you health and overall body condition in order. Water is the one thing that connects every living thing in this world without fail, the most valuable asset that is needed to connect us all to this planet.
ReplyDeleteIn the book “A long walk to water,” by Linda Sue Park, Nya and Salva have very deep connections to water. Deeper than most people, with a meaning both physically and theoretically. It was harder for Nya to access water for herself and the rest of her family on a daily basis, costing hours and hours of painstaking trudging and only to receive muddy and dangerous liquid that causes diseases and horrible sickness to those of all ages who drink it in large amounts. She has never had access to clean water like we have, until that well was built in her village. That day everything changed for her. Salva, coming from a family that was better off in his village, didn’t have as hard of time finding pure, clear drinking water. Or at least that view was shared in the book--but we don’t know that for sure. However, during his travels away from his parents during the war, Salva faced hardships that many of us can scarcely imagine. Limits to food and water, horrible discomfort, and pain. He learned at a young age just how important water is when it comes to continuous survival, and after he earned his education in America he dedicated his life to the ‘Water for Sudan’ project.
Other than bring actual water to the community, the well will continue to prove that even though there are disagreements between groups of people and different races, all it takes is one brave person to overcome them. All you need is the strength and belief that everyone is equal, and that everyone deserves the basic needs to live in this world. Salva showed that each time a well was built in a different village than his own.
– Written by Jillian Moll
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ReplyDeleteA Long Walk To Water’s author, Linda Sue Park, illustrates how important water is to both Nya and Salva’s situation as they both have a deep connection to it by their need of it. For Nya, having water in her village will allow her and her sister to change their lives significantly as they will be able to go to school instead of walking four to six hours a day to the pond to bring water home to their family. “With the well here no one will have to go to the pond anymore. So all the children will be able to go to school.”(chapter 17, page 103, Southern Sudan, 2009) Having clean water will improve the health for all the people in the village. With a well in their community it will give them the opportunity to have a Marketplace, possibly a Clinic, as well as more jobs and other conveniences. Salva who was one of the “Lost Boys” lacked water throughout his long journey in the dry and arid desert. People suffered and died from lack of water on the journey. After years away from his family Salva discovered his Father in a hospital suffering from a water borne illness. “No longer lost, and with a new determination to help those like his father who had fallen ill because of unsafe drinking water, Dut returned to the United States. In 2003, he founded Water for South Sudan (WSS), a nonprofit organization that aims to provide access to clean, safe water and improve hygiene and sanitation practices in areas of great need.” (UNICEF USA, December 5, 2018) This was significant because Nya’s village received one of the wells from Salva’s organization. In conclusion, Nya and Salva lacked good clean water during the story "A Long Walk To Water", but with the help of many generous people Salva and his foundation were able to bring healthy well water to the small communities in Sudan.
ReplyDeleteIn 2003, Salva Dut organized a project called Water for South Sudan, and it brought many Sudanese communities in poverty water wells with clean water and schools including boys and girls for the people of the village. This gave save and easy access to clean water to the people who would otherwise have to walk for eight hours in order to get a gourd full of muddy, unsanitary water and an opportunity to finally receive a proper education. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities to the people of Nya’s village, the well and school provided many other things for the community. The clean water the well provides gives the community proper sanitation. The people can now wash their hands with clean water, have a drink at water fountains, and build bathrooms, or latrines. As mentioned in the “Sanitation Project” section in the Water for South Sudan website, building latrines and water fountains would prevent the spread of disease, and help students focus in school instead of having to “...miss lessons because they had to walk 30 minutes on average to find drinking water or to relieve themselves in the bush (WSS Sanitation).” If Nya’s village had had this well built before, Akeer wouldn’t have fallen ill due to the unsanitary water she drank everyday. Then their family had to go through extra lengths to boil and clean the water they had for her. When the well was built, it also allowed many things to prosper and be built. As the book “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park States, “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy [food] and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday -- a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill. It was the well that was bringing the village all these good things (A Long 113).” The well offered a source of clean water and the school offered education opportunities for not only Nya’s village but others in the area that would benefit from it. The school would provide opportunities to go to college, and even job opportunities for those who want to become teachers in Nya’s village. The water well would provide convenient and safe access to clean water and sanitation. When Nya’s village was given water, life prospered. Life cannot live without water, and I am glad that Nya and her village was finally given the opportunity. It saddens me that Salva, Nya, and the country of Sudan was only just given this asset that improved their lives so much.
ReplyDeleteBy Jason Ohta
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the book, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the protagonist Salva starts the Water for South Sudan project which is intended to bring clean, fresh water for the people of Sudan. One of the villages that were greatly impacted was Nya’s village. Before the well was built, she had to walk for hours and hours to find water. Nya had to battle the heat and thorns. (pg. 1 and pg.8) She had to do this for 7 months. (pg. 20) Nya’s family would move to a camp near a lake when it stopped raining and the pond dried up. Fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka prevented Nya’s family from moving year round. (pg. 26) Then her sister, Akeer got sick from the dirty, muddy water from the holes that were dug up near the lake. (pg. 45) Because of the well built, Nya can go to school and drink clean water. But those are not the only benefits of having a well providing fresh water. Nya’s village can have good sanitation. They can finally wash their hands, and take proper showers. Their will also be less sickness and clean water will prevent water poisoning. Their will also be more healthier people with longer life spans because they are drinking fresh water so less people will have to go to hospitals because of water poisoning like Salva’s dad did and he barely survived the journey to the hospital. (pg. 106) More access to clean water like these wells will prevent fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka which has killed many people and has put fear into families like Nya’s.
ReplyDeletePlease remember to sign your blog posts if you are not automatically commenting through your Google account.
DeleteIn the end of the book "A Long Walk To Water" by Linda Sue Park, Salva, a young man who has been in the harsh conditions of Sudan, and wants to give back to his country, helps fund a well for a small village in Sudan where water is much needed. Besides the well providing lots of clean water and schooling opportunities, the well can help in town growth, which can be split into many categories, including helping with villagers time, helping with trade, and more job specialization. First of all, the town can benefit from the well because of villagers time. Before the well was built, villagers had to walk hours to places where they could get small amounts of muddy, warm water. But now that the well was built, they wouldn't even have to walk out of their town to get water that is cleaner or cooler than the water they used to get from walking hours away. Another way the well can help is with trading. Now that the villagers have so much clean, cool water, they can use some to trade for other items like clothing, food, and any other essentials that they might need. And as mentioned before, the well will save lots of time, and now that they have a surplus of it, they can use it for trading. Lastly, the well can help with job specialization. And as mentioned many times before, the villagers will have a lot more time than they did before. This time can also be used for job specialization. Villagers can learn how to learn new skills, like weaving, cooking, and writing. These skills can all be used in trade and will help with the villages trading as well. The well itself could also bring jobs due to it needing to be maintained every so often. All of these things the town benefits from all tie back to one thing, which is growth. Trading, job specialization, and time, will all lead to the towns growth, and with this it, the town will be able to become more wealthy, and overall be able to live a better life. In the end what Salva did for Nya's village is one of the best things that could've happened to their village, and the well helped them in almost every way imaginable.
ReplyDeleteWater is a very important part of the book A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park. Salva and Nya have faced many struggles relating to water including walking for miles each day, running out of water, having to walk in the burning hot dessert for days with only a gourd of water, etc. At the end of the book, Salva helps Nya’s village build a well so that they don’t have to walk miles every day to get water. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, the well has many other values. It is a symbol of hope because the well reminds you that there are many kind people in this world. Salva was from the Dinka tribe which was enemies with the Nuer tribe, which was Nya’s tribe. He was kind and saw that the Nuer needed help so he aided them even though they were supposed to be enemies. In addition to being a symbol of hope, some other uses for the well could be that the village could use the water for farming, cleaning and plumbing. The village can use the clean water to water the crops now that they have enough water. They can also use the water to clean their food. For example, if they had a fruit or vegetable they could make sure that it doesn’t have bugs and dirt on it. They could connect the plumbing to houses and use it for showering, washing hands, and toilets . The well can also provide clean water for the animals in the village. This would result in healthier animals which leads to healthier food. People also wouldn’t get sick from drinking dirty water which means that there would be more people helping the community. Overall, a well benefits Nya’s community in many great ways.
ReplyDelete-Ella Lee-Guest
In the novel, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the two protagonists, Salva and Nya, explore how water is essential for both survival and for putting aside their differences.One of the protagonists, Salva, had to walk through dry deserts to escape the war, even without water or food sometimes. Years later, after many refugee camps and searching for his family, Salva was able to move to America and live with a new family. However, he later had heard that his father was found in a hospital around Southern Sudan.Salva had found out that his Father’s illness had to do with years of drinking contaminated water. “And an idea came to him-an idea of what he might be able to do to help the people of Sudan.”(chapter 17, page 107) This is significant because it shows that Salva had been inspired to do something about the water in Sudan. The other protagonist, Nya, had to walk hours every day to gather water for her family. When the well was built in Nya’s town, not only would it provide clean water and schooling opportunities, but it would also benefit the town as a whole. Because of the steady income of water, the water could be used to farm. This would result in lots of food for the town to eat. “There was even talk of a clinic someday - a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill.” (chapter 18, page 113) This quote shows that the well can contribute more than just clean water and schooling opportunities. Also, the water wouldn’t just benefit the town, but outside communities as well. People would come from far distances to drink and use clean water. This meant trading opportunities but also something much bigger. Diversity. New people meant new allies which could teach and spread their different ways of living or other things too. Different people from different places and tribes could learn to get along. Just like how Salva was the one that built the well in Nya’s town even though his tribe(the Dinka) are enemies with Nya's tribe(the Nuer). The well provides many opportunities, opportunities that will make the community a better place.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you explained how Salva had to go through many hardships to get water. Overall, good job in the structure of your paragraph and how you wrote it. Also, you have a good opening and closing sentence. Good job!
Delete-Ella Lee-Guest
Nya and Salva have a deep connection to water, and the well at the end of the book shows just how much water can positively affect a community in great ways. The well at the end of the book, built for Nya’s community, not only gives clean water and schooling opportunities, but also gives the people a chance to make their community a grounded, supported village. No longer the women had to walk to the pond to get water, meaning they would have similar opportunities for jobs like the men. “All the children, Papa? The girls, too?” (Nya asked this to her father after he told her they were building a school, chapter 17, page 103). They talked about making plans for a marketplace, so people can buy and sell vegetables, meat and other goods. This would help people get jobs and help others feed their families. The village even talked about making a medical clinic someday - a hospital so people like Nya’s little sister Akeer, who became ill from contaminated water, could stay healthy. Every person needs food, clean water, schooling, and medical care; meaning Nya’s village can expand and thrive instead of having to survive. “It was the well that was bringing the village all these good things.” (Nya, chapter 18, page 113). And with the fact that Salva, a Dinka man, organized building the well, will soften the harsh feelings between the Dinka tribes and the Nuer tribes. Overall, the well at the end of the book will help the community thrive with clean water, food, medical care, schooling, and possibly peace between the Dinka and Nuer tribes.
ReplyDeleteEvangelina Amato
Everyone needs water to survive and both Nya and Salva didn’t have it when they most desperately needed it. The well changed their entire world, benefiting Nya’s community in many ways. The well not only provided clean water and made schooling available for the girls, but it also gave them the ability to meet other tribes, trade resources other than water, expand the community, and lessen sicknesses and diseases. Because of the well, people came from other tribes for the clean water and trading could be easier. The community might also benefit because other tribes and people would want to protect the Nuer because they would not want the water source to be destroyed by the war. Also, instead of needing to travel when their water source was low the Nuer could expand their nation by staying put. With the extra water they could practice better cleanliness and that would cause there to be less sicknesses and diseases. Fewer people would end up like Nya’s sister or Salva’s dad, who became ill because of poor water, because the water would be clean and, if need be, there would be enough to boil it to a count of 200, long enough to make clean. Water is a key to survival and in the book, A Long Walk To Water, those who most desperately needed it didn’t have access to it. In South Sudan, wells provided clean water to many communities and gave them what pond couldn’t.
ReplyDeleteBye: Mandy Tankersley
DeleteTypo, By: Mandy Tankersley
DeleteIn the book “A Long Walk to Water,” by Linda Sue Park, both Salva and Nya faced obstacles in order to have access to drinkable water. They would walk for hours at a time just to find clean water. Towards the end of the book, Salva spends time working to help build Nya’s village a well. This was a huge deal for Nya’s village. In chapter 18, page 113, Nya said, “The well would change their {the villager’s} lives in many ways.” The well would provide clean water and schooling opportunities, among many other benefits. For example, the well will make it so women no longer spend their days walking to fetch water. Now, the women may use their time on other useful things to help the village advance. They can learn new skills, such as how to properly treat someone when they are ill. This way if somebody is sick they won’t have to travel far to get help, like Salva’s father did. Also, the water can be used in many ways other than for drinking. Villagers will now be able to bathe properly, helping them stay healthy. Yet another way the well benefits the village is through farming. With so much water, it is very easy to plant an abundance of crops to trade for other resources. The village will expand with its new advancements. Most of all, the well will bring people together. More people from other places will want to be near to the well, and so the village’s population will grow. The village will become more diverse and accepting, since “no one was ever to be refused water” (chapter 18, page 113). In conclusion, the well that Salva helped organize will benefit Nya’s village in numerous ways.
ReplyDeleteHistory Summer Reading Response
ReplyDeleteSophia Speziale
In this book “A Long Walk To Water”, by Linda Sue Park, Nya and Salva were part of a life that depended on the slightest amount of water in order to live. So for a well to be built for people is something that is huge for the people who need it. For Nya, she had to walk miles in order to get water which in the end wasn’t even clean. This water would eventually dry up every year and would leave them to have to look for even more somewhere else. They always retreated to a like that even then was dried up but under the mud, still contained water but it was very minimal. The well at the Lake is something that would change the life of Nya and her family. There would be no more long walks to get a small amount of dirty water. Now she could get a large amount of clean water. Nya and her tribe went to a lake that was also occupied by their rival tribe, the Dinka tribe. On pages 33 and 34 of this book, it says that “No one from Nya’s family had been hurt or killed by the Dinka. But she knew other families in the village who had lost loved ones this way.” With the conflicts going on between the Dinka tribe and the Nuer tribe, the well full of clean water is something that can bring them together and create less conflicts. The well is something that is so important in Sudan and will make it easier to access water for the people living there, and it will also bring them together.
Community Awareness
ReplyDeleteWater is central to everyone’s life, and both Nya and Salva have a deep connection to it. Consider the well at the end of the book. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, how else will the well benefit the community?
Last year's main topic was water. The middle school spent all year raising money to build a well in south sudan. Last year, before reading this book, did not think much about how the well would change their lives. In the book, “A Long walk to water” in chapters 14-17, it describes how much the well would change their lives. All the children could spend their time getting an education instead of hauling water back to the village. Sinch the well provides fresh water, many illnesses were eliminated so the people of the Nuer Tribe could live happier, longer and more educated lives. Before the well was Placed in Nay’s village, many people including her sister Akeer. The family will not longer need to move during the dry season. Reading this book really made me aware of how easy our lives are. I will now think about how lucky we are to live in a place where we have fresh, clean water.
-Lauren Holst
Water is the one and only thing on Earth that is able to connect all living inhabitants on Earth. Water is vital to the survival of all races that reside on Earth. Without water, all living things are unable to function properly. Water connects us all. In the book “A Long Walk To Water,” by Linda Sue Park, the connection to water and its significance to life is further developed as the readers catch a glimpse of the life of two young people that lived in Sudan, their hardships, and how they persevered. Towards the end of the book, Salva returns to Sudan to help the villages by building wells to provide clean water. One of the villages that Salva helped was the village that Nya lived in. Not only does the well in Nya’s village provide clean water and schooling but, it also provides better crops, cleaner and healthier villagers, because of the clean water, medical clinics, and a marketplace, because they no longer have to walk long distances for water, as stated in “Chapter 18 page 113” when the narrator said, “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday---a medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was ill.” In conclusion the well provided many benefits along with clean water and schooling.
ReplyDelete-Hanson Loh
At the end of the book, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park, the protagonist Salva starts the Water for South Sudan project which is intended to bring clean, fresh water for the people of south Sudan. One of the villages that were greatly impacted was Nya’s village. Before the well was built, she had to walk for hours and hours to find water. Nya had to battle the heat and thorns (pg. 1 and pg.8) and she had to do this for 7 months. (pg. 20) Nya’s family would move to a camp near a lake when it stopped raining and the pond dried up. (pg. 26) Fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka prevented Nya’s family from moving year round. (pg. 26) Then her sister, Akeer got sick from the dirty, muddy water from the holes that were dug up near the lake. (pg. 45) Because of the well built, Nya can go to school and drink clean water. But those are not the only benefits of having a well providing fresh water. Nya’s village can have good sanitation. They can finally wash their hands, and take proper showers. Their will also be less sickness and clean water will prevent water poisoning. Their will also be more healthier people with longer life spans because they are drinking fresh water so less people will have to go to hospitals because of water poisoning like Salva’s dad did and he barely survived the journey to the hospital. (pg. 106) More access to clean water like these wells will prevent fighting between the Nuer and the Dinka which has killed many people and has put fear into families like Nya’s. The well will make Nya’s village more advanced. On pg. 113, it says, “In a few more days, the school will be finished. Nya and Dep and Akeer would all be able to go to school, along with the other children. Next year there would be a marketplace where villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods. There was even talk of a clinic someday-a medical clinic so they wouldn’t have to walk so far.” This means that the children can become educated because of the school and their will be more commerce because of the marketplace. The nearest clinic for Nya’s family was a few days of a difficult walk (pg. 39 and 40) so medication for illness will be more accessible. Nya’s village will also one day be able to generate hydroelectric power. Lots of their problems have been caused by the lack of water. Now most of their problems are solved because of the well and Nya and her village will have more opportunities that were once only dreamt of.
ReplyDelete-Sanya Prasad
At the end of the book “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park, Salva Dut wants to help his home Country of Southern Sudan, and starts a project Water for Sudan Inc. to help provide fresh and clean water for communities in need. In this Book both characters- Salva and Nya faced obstacles on a daily just to get clean water for their families and community. Salva and Nya had to walk for hours at a time to provide clean drinking water. Toward the end of the book Salva has moved to New York, United States, and has received a supportive and loving family and an education. As a young adult Salva wanted to help the country of South Sudan. The water well would help villages and communities to be able to get water and an education without facing so many obstacles. One example of a benefit would be that more people would live, because water is one thing that all living organisms need. So as a result of getting fresh water more often would be that the health of children and adults would be longer because they are given drinkable water. Another benefit would be that more children and young adults will get more opportunities because they are given the option of a good education. More children can pursue dreams, and get more opportunities because of the education. Women and young girls will also be given the chance to help their villages in others ways, instead of spending all day getting water. But the most important benefit a well would give would be connection. This well would bring communities together, like in the book Salva and Nya were from two rivaling villages, and Salva wanted to help even them. In this story the people of Nuer thanked a young man from their former rivaling village for giving them the opportunity of fresh water. These are some of the benefits that a well would provide for a community.
ReplyDeleteGabby Becerra
Summer Blog
ReplyDeleteAugust 2019
Jonah Chuang
Water is central to everyone’s life and both Nya and Salva have a deep connection to it. Consider the well at the end of the book. In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, how else will the well benefit the community?
The building of the water well and school provided the Nuer community with necessary life sustaining resources and opportunity. The well was a treasured resource for the Nuer and provided a convenient method to get a bucket of clean water. Unfortunately for Nya, the well was not built early enough to prevent Nya’s little sister Akeer from getting ill. Because of her illness, Nya, Akeer and their family move to a camp that was in proximity to a larger but dirtier pond. The school also provided the Nuer children with education and skills. With education, Nuer children could improve their wage earning capacity and provide needed functions to their own community.
By involving the Nuer community in the building of the well and the school, Salva and this workers taught Nuer community members new skills and talents. This inspired the Nuer community to innovate and to invest in their own community. Through Salva’s teaching the Nuer building skills and providing them with access to education, the Nuer could help themselves by building the needed buildings to house schools, wells, markets, and medical clinics and by gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to become teachers, architects and doctors. Further, the Nuer could “pass it on” to other impoverished communities. In this model, the poor and disadvantaged, such as the Nuer, can help themselves and each other so that every human being can access basic resources to live and the opportunity to improve their situation.
The book “A Long Walk To Water” by Linda Sue Park, is tied together by one vital resource, water. Water was the general source of connection that connected people of different culture and tribe, and is what changed both Nya and Salva’s lives, two different people more than twenty years apart. Nya fetched water daily, as well as the other girls in her Nuer village. This was the main reason she could not attend school, because she needed to fetch water to support her family. When the well in her village is made, her life changes forever. There was not only an opportunity for fresh, clean water and education, there would be a marketplace built where villages can sell and buy daily necessities, but there was also a possibility it a clinic. Having clean water can lead to better health, which can lead to a better lifestyle for people in the Nya’s village. “Only two days earlier, Akeem had complained busily and at length about the pains in her stomach…. Nya knew many people who suffered from the same illness,” (pg. 39). Not only was the hospital far and take several days walk, many people didn’t want to take the risk of completing the journey. But with the clinic, the lives of so many can change for the better. “A medical clinic, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far to get help, as they had to when Akeer was sick.” (Pg. 113). A marketplace can also benefit the village greatly. A marketplace can mean fresher food, more produce and an opportunity to earn money. It was the well that will bring these good things to the people, and it is the water changes everyone’s lives. It is also the water that tied these people together, despite the war and if they are Nuer or Dinka.
ReplyDelete- Victoria Li
In A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, the well that was built in Nya’s village is a huge opportunity for them. With all the water, not only will they make a school for boys and girls, they will be able to make farms and raise animals. The kids will be able to play and have fun, instead of just walking to a pond or lake every day. They will not have to move to the lake in the middle of the summer. This will allow them to build bigger houses, have more possessions, and they won't get hurt by the Dinka, because they won’t have to go near Dinka territory. They will be able to hunt much safer, because they are in their own territory. They also may be able to have doctors there because of the water and school. It will be the perfect spot for a trade center too. More people will come to the village to live there. It is amazing how much a place depends on water, and when there is water there, it flourishes and many more people live there. It was very nice for Salva to build wells in other territories, not just helping his own people with their water crisis. It was a very good ending when Salva met Nya, because of how surprised Nya was when she realized that the person who helped her people was Dinka. “Why would a Dinka bring water to us?” she wondered aloud (page 114). The world will be a wonderful place if everyone looked past their differences to help each other like Salva did.
ReplyDelete-Jakob Reineck
In addition to providing clean water and schooling opportunities, the well in Nya’s town will help create a more diverse economy and marketplace and also help to improve agriculture. At the end of the book, the school in Nya’s town is almost complete. As a result, the school will need to employ teachers. Because the teachers will no longer be able to farm, they will have to buy crops in the marketplace. Nya refers to the marketplace when she says “Next year there would be a marketplace where the villagers could sell and buy vegetables and chickens and other goods” (pg 112). With the development of the marketplace, there will be a more diverse economy as different jobs are created. The people would not be able to have these diverse jobs if they had to spend a great amount of time getting water every day. Nya also mentions the medical clinic when she says “There was even talk of a clinic someday-a medical clinic, so they wouldn't have to walk so far to get help.” This is another example of how the well will benefit the community. The well will also provide agricultural benefits. Instead of having to use dirty water to grow their crops, they will be able to use clean water. Using clean water in agriculture will make a surplus of better tasting, healthier crops that will sell for more in the market.
ReplyDelete-Zach Von Behren
How did the well benefit the community?
ReplyDeleteBy Liam Spieker
In the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, the well that Salva built in Nya's village is a huge opportunity for Nya and everyone else in her village. Not only does the huge well offer Nya to be able to not walk miles for water but she also can get an education. While the well gives water to the people in Nya's village, It can also bring trade and new things to Nya's village. As new people come in for water, they can exchange new things for water. In the beginning of the book, Nya can’t go to school because she is constantly going to the lake and back to collect water for her family. Nya works hard everyday to collect the dirty, unsanitary water from the lake. When Nya’s sister Akeem gets sick because she had been drinking the dirty water, Nya’s family can’t decide if they want to travel the super long path to the medical clinic or not. Later, Salva begins to build wells in his own hometown. Salva also builds a well in the rival village of his hometown, changing the lives of everyone in Nya’s village, causing peace between the two villages. In the end, Salva benefits communities all over Sudan.
Owen Golding
ReplyDeleteAll animals and humans on this earth live by drinking water, and if you don’t have any water then you’ll have an unpleasant surprise awaiting. In the book A Long Walk to Water, both Nya and Salva need water but water doesn’t just mean living for them. Water is a source in their native homelands that will break the civilization down or bring it up. At the end of the book Salma builds a well, which would start to be the main water source so that nobody had to walk far to get water from a natural source. If nobody has to take up time in their day to walk and go get water, then use the water, then get more water people will be able to do a lot more extra activities. For example in the very end of the book Salma and his crew also build a school so that the kids can learn instead of having to go to the spring to get water. Even though the well in Nya’s village already has so many benefits, there are a lot more such as being able to farm. If people can get their water from a source that is seconds away they would be able to water crops more often which overtime would make the crops grow faster, which leads me into my second point, trading. If people were able to grow double, or maybe even triple the crops, there could be a chance for extra crops, which they would be able to sell and trade. Not only could the well make it easier for food and trade but it can also save time in peoples days. People could learn a lot of extra skills and even extracurricular activities such as sports, fishing, and schooling. My final point why a good source of water in the village will help is the villagers health. For example, if people would get sick and you needed water for a cure or dehydration and there was no good source of water you would have to walk for a long time just to find water and it might have already been too late. In conclusion having a source of water in the village at all times is a very good thing to have
In the book, A Long Walk To Water, by Linda Sue Park, both Nya and Salva have a very deep connection to water. In her impoverished community, most girls, including Nya, must make the long trek to the mud filled pond. The pond is filled with dirt and cow feces, because the cows graze nearby. Catching a disease from this water is very likely so Nya’s mother must boil the water before it is drinkable. The long trek to the only water source nearby takes aways Nya’s opportunity to be schooled. The need for clean water changes her life. When he was a young boy, he fled his family and home because of war. As Salva made his way to camps along the borders of the countries surrounding Sudan, he struggled to survive. Getting food and water was beyond just a burden, but Salva never gave up. He lost many people he loved, but that wouldn't stop him either. When he got to the camps, overpopulation made it hard for everyone to get the same share of food and water, but Salva never gave up. Once he had the opportunity to help, he got straight to it. At the end of the book, Salva organizes the building of a well in the middle of Nya’s community, providing easy access to clean water. Slava gave back what he knew people needed most, community. By placing a well, he helped people to let go of their worries about clean water, allowed girls like Nya go to school, made illnesses disappear, and overall brought people together.
ReplyDeleteIn the book A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, both characters had a struggle in the story trying to survive, a large part of that was that they had no access to clean water. It becomes such a large part of Nya’s life that her little sister almost dies. Not only does the well, that Salva raised money to build, provide clean water and an opportunity for the children to go to school and get a good education, but it symbolizes the first step toward peace between Dinka’s and Nuer’s. The well can be used as a meeting area when people from other or the same tribes go to get water they can make new friends and get culturally educated. On page 112 in the last chapter an old man said, “This is where we use to gather for our bonfire celebrations. I have been sitting on this ground my whole life. And all those years I never knew that I was sitting on top of good water.” This can show that the well can be used as celebration space like it was when the bonfires were held there. In addition having clean water will allow other community services such as health clinics. The well that Salva build for Nya’s community was more than just a source of clean fresh water.
ReplyDelete- Cameron Bonanno
In the book A Long Walk To Water by: Linda Sue Park we see 20 year old Salva putting others before himself by helping remote villages all over South Sudan gain one of the most important elements needed for survival, clean water. Salva and The Lost Boys gain deep connections to others in need of water because of what they had to experience when they were little. Running from war your whole life isn't the ideal childhood but looking back on his own personal life experiences from when Salva was eleven, made him realize that he was not the only one itching for clean fresh water to drink. Within that realization sparked determination in his eyes and then emerged the Water For South Sudan non profit corporation to help others around the world gain fresh drinking water. From then on Salva and The Lost Boys installed a total of over 350 clean wells in the past 16 years. Their very first well Water For South Sudan established was actually in the same exact village as Salva’s Dad used to live in before he past away However when his first well was built Salva noticed something new, he and his crew didn't just help build a well, he actually helped build a community. A community that came together to collect water, trade, and make friends. This community could from then on have many markets, stores, and plenty of people all thanks to a few drops of hope that Salva had to share with the world.
ReplyDelete-Audrey Fundingsland