By Verda Anwer, Grade 8 student
Water, what does this word mean to you? To me water is another word for life. Every day, women around the world spend a cumulative total of 200 million hours collecting water for their families. Eighty percent of illnesses in developing countries are linked to poor water and sanitation. 1,000,000,000 people live without access to fresh drinking water.
This is why Eastdale decided to take part in the We Create Change Penny Drive from Free the Children. It all started with two girls that shared an idea for social change, Verda Anwer and Kelsie Young. It started out small but by the end this event had made a major impact.
The question is how does this event work? Well, Free the Children had sent us penny bags, and it was our job to fill each penny bag with 2,500 pennies. Each penny bag would supply one person with clean drinking water for the rest of their life!
It wasn’t easy to run this campaign but with the help of a team and the support of a teacher we made it happen. We wrote newsletters, scripts and presented videos to spread awareness. Together we created change with our school. We believe that no one can help everyone but everyone can help someone. Our hard work and perseverance certainly paid off.
In the end, our school had raised 37,500 pennies; this meant $375 in pennies. This was one of the biggest achievements in our lives. We were exhilarated with the pennies we were able to collect in only ten days. Our school had provided 15 people access to clean water for the rest of their lives.
Together we learned that something as small as a penny can make a difference. We learned that 37, 500 pennies means something different to everyone. It means clean water, it means teamwork, and it means together we can make a difference!Have a great story? Submit it here.
