CLEARWATER, Fla. — This past weekend, Clearwater Central Catholic High School participated in its fourth annual Walk 4 Water.
Hundreds of students and their families carried five-pound buckets of sand for over a mile around the school to simulate the conditions that women and children in Africa face every day to get water.
Watch report from Robert Boyd
“It's such an important cause and it’s definitely something I saw like a problem and a need for action,” said student Allison Fisher.
Fisher is part of Clearwater Central Catholic’s Water 4 Mercy Chapter. It’s the biggest club in school.
“You don’t really realize how blessed you are until you kind of see how people are living in other parts of the world,” said Fisher.
There are hundreds of millions of people living in Africa without clean drinking water. Women and children are walking three to four miles, in extreme heat and treacherous conditions, just for the hope of finding water that’s not even clean.
“It’s really important to understand what people are going through and struggling because you can’t always see it from the outside,” said student Grace Grady.
Students said they were surprised how difficult just one lap around the school could be.
“I was really surprised I didn’t think it would be that hard but now I realize the weight these people carry every single day,” said student Emily Sullivan.
Since 2021, Clear Water Central Catholic has raised more than $60,000 through events like this, helping to bring fresh, clean drinking water to two African villages.
“Their heart is touched to help humankind, women and children struggling, to help them on the other side of the world, that truly touches my heart, and I love that they’ve taken this and embraced it,” said Nermine Khouzam Rubin, Founder of Water 4 Mercy.
Rubin, whose own kids went to Clearwater Central Catholic, started the non-profit organization in 2018 with the goal of providing water, food and hope to the most impoverished villages of Africa.
“All of us together one by one can really make a difference and the fact that they are young, ‘wow,’ I truly say the future is in great hands,” said Rubin.
CCC says they couldn’t do it alone. They’ve picked up sponsorship from across the community like Main Street Economics.
“When people really recognize the issue at hand, to get local support, to help these people in Africa that live the way they do is just really heartwarming,” said Les Rubin Founder of Main Street Economics.
This summer, 15 of these students will accompany Nermine to Tanzania to see firsthand how their efforts have helped to change lives.
“They get to go see and turn on the water taps and plant seeds of hope for generations to come,” said Rubin.
For more information on how your school can start its own Water 4 Mercy chapter, go to www.water4mercy.org.
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