Students raise funds walking for water

Three students from Monarch Park Collegiate are hoping to raise enough money for the Free The Children organization to build a well in Kenya.

The catch? All three will be camping for three days, and will carry all of the water they need for the weekend a distance of five kilometres, every time they need more fluids for cooking, drinking or cleaning.

“That’s the average distance a Kenyan woman would have to walk to get water,” said Rachel Langridge, one of the three Grade 12 students.

Langridge, along with Emily Pepper and Rebecca Woolgar, planned the fund- and awareness-raising event to fulfill an assignment for the International Baccalaureate program at Monarch Park, but after brainstorming together, opted to make the assignment count beyond grades.

“We’re all familiar with Free The Children,” said Pepper, pointing out that the three friends have all been involved with local Me To We clubs for several years as well.

The trip will take place from Oct. 2 to 4, at Greenwood Conservation Area in Ajax. The girls are piggybacking on a group from their elementary school for logistical reasons, but will be camping on their own. While they have camped in the past, they’ve never had to carry the weight of water over long distances multiple times a day. As Woolgar put it, success for the trio would be marked simply by “just doing it. Five kilometres is a long way.”

While they’ve all been training for the trip, “that doesn’t mean it won’t be hard,” said Woolgar.

The three girls are not sure whether they’ll be able to raise the full amount for a well, which costs about $5,000, but they’re hoping to cover a substantial part of that amount.

To donate to Langridge, Pepper and Woolgar, email canadaforkenya@gmail.com.

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