Water trek raises consciousness
Independence High students raise funds and awareness for freshwater
SAN JOSE — Carrying up to five gallons of water strapped to their backs, dozens of Independence High School students trekked around campus Friday to raise funds and awareness of the need for access to fresh water.
Dipping buckets into Penitencia Creek, which runs through campus, students rigged ropes and carried their sloshing burden along a mile-long course.
“To be honest, it’s pretty hard to carry,” said sophomore Ken Tran, who unlike other contestants was lugging his nearly full bucket alone. Halfway along, he had stopped to rest 10 times, including at tables displaying factoids.
Only 10 yards after filling their bucket at the river, Jennifer Nguyen and Charlene Kong, both sophomores, dumped out half the water. Then they alternated among various ways to
lug their burden, including the Masai way on their head.
But the bucket’s rope soon slipped down. “We almost broke our necks,” Jennifer said.
The trek was the brainchild of junior Amy Hua, history teacher Jordan Stone and the Independence Solar Suitcase Team, which assembled portable solar generators that helped them win a PG&E solar energy challenge and a trip to Kenya. It also was sponsored by the school’s UNICEF Club and Parkour Club, a group of students who practice moves like noncombative martial arts.
Stone, Amy, 16, and junior Kyle Mondina represented the club in delivering the suitcases in February that brought electricity to a village in the Maasai Mara National Reserve and Narok County. While there, they helped a family fetch the day’s water — a half-mile trek to a river, and return trip lugging five gallons each.
That hike etched in the visitors’ minds the value, and luxury, of having easy access to fresh, potable water.
“Some people go 3 or even 5 miles for water,” Amy said, noting that they might have to make several trips that take up the entire day.
Returning to San Jose, the trio pondered ways to share their experience and realizations, and came up with the Water Walk. On Friday, intrepid students hefted 5-gallon buckets to emulate the daily chore of rural women fetching water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. “We wanted it to be exactly how we did it over there” in Kenya, Amy said.
Well, somewhat like the laborious Kenyan walk.
Independence students, who paid $10 each to participate, could choose how full to fill their buckets, donated by Home Depot. “If they want to carry less water, we do understand. Not everyone has same physical abilities,” Amy said.
Walkers stopped at tables along the way providing facts about water use, both in California and abroad. They listened to a speaker from Kenya, and at the end they took an exam about water facts.
Even if that sounds a lot like class, the walk was less a grind and more a carnival challenge, enticing participants with prizes, a barbecue, games and Masai bracelet-making.
Senior Toan Tran was among the first 10 finishers, and found that he had carried only enough water for one toilet flush. It was a sobering reality check, as students learned that the average American uses 140 to 170 gallons of water a day.
Proceeds from the walk benefit UNICEF and the Toronto-based WE Charity, and the event gave students a sense of accomplishment, perhaps piquing their interest in a critical topic — which was part of the organizers’ plan.
“We wanted to share this experience with everybody,” Hua said.