Water Blogged

His feet felt like they were on fire

Posted by Steve Hall on October 22, 2014

A message from Cristy Basa:

My son’s School, Elgin Academy, participated in an H2O for Life Walk for Water. This was a student led activity spearheaded by the Service Learning class and their teachers. Students of all grades 5th – 8th, were moved to action after discussion of their Middle School Summer Reading book – A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Integrated into this learning was an English homework to write a poem, which is inspired by the book. My 11 year old son Samuel, who participated in the cause was really touched by this issue and wrote this poem.

The Walk For Water
By: Samuel Nathan Basa

The long walk, the foot-tearing walk for water.
A boy walked and walked wanting to just go back.
To go back to his home and rest; but he kept going because he knew; he knew he had to give his family water.
Walking still walking his feet felt like they were on fire like he was walking on the sun.

The only thing that kept him going was that thought. The thought of a big gulp of water when he got to the lake.
As he walked for what seemed like years he saw it; saw the lake, no he saw what was now a small murky pond.
But the boy didn’t care; care that the water was murky for it was water and it was precious.

He finally drank; he drank the dirty water and a rush of energy went through his body like a light turning on. The boy sat on the ground dunked his feet; his burning burning feet in the pond.
He filled his container with water and started his long journey back; back HOME.

He arrived, finally arrived and slept; slept like he never slept before.
A feeling awoke him; a feeling of sickness a sickness that could not be cured.
The next few days he lay on his bed, sick and tired.
Only thinking of one thing …WATER.
The next day the boy fell asleep, a deep sleep, a deep sleep that he could never awake from…

This boy died because of the water he drank the water that was dirty and contaminated. He died just because of a drink of water, a simple drink of water. Thousands of people die because of dirty or lack of water. Please use the water we have for a good reason.

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