British International School in New York

On June 2, 2009, twelve inspired fourth grade students and one dedicated teacher from the British International School in New York decided to make a difference and raise awareness of world water issues by conducting a three mile walk from their classroom to Rockefeller Center, raising $376 for WaterAid along the way.

The fourth-graders take a break next to a police officer and his horse.

With fantastic panoramic views, the British International School overlooks New York City’s East River and has unlimited access to the diverse cultural offerings of Manhattan. With the aim of developing “global citizens,” the British International School creates a learning community filled with passionate, respectful and committed pupils. This was made especially clear in the classroom of Chris Beddows and his twelve dedicated fourth grade students.

The idea first came while students studied a unit about water around the world, and became aware of the distance some children travel to obtain fresh water.

While thinking about ways to raise public awareness of this reality, the children suggested a Walk for Water to the Rockefeller Center. Their three mile walk, the same distance an average child from Ghana must walk to collect fresh water, extended to and from the Rockefeller Center.

On June 2, twelve students in blue hand-decorated water t-shirts set off on the hot hike to raise awareness of the global water crisis, while collecting donations for WaterAid from friends, family members and supporters. After successfully reaching the Rockefeller Center, a tired Mr. Beddows and the twelve students stopped to re-energize with pancakes and pose for a picture with a police officer and friendly horse, who found one boy’s shirt particularly tasty.

As one student explained, “Walking for no reason would be boring, but knowing we were walking for someone our own age made it fun as we felt we were making a difference”.

Despite sore feet and tired legs the day after the event, when asked if they would participate in a Walk for Water again all twelve students exclaimed excitedly, “Absolutely!”