‘Walk for Water’ Brings Gaithersburg, Japanese Students Together (Video)
With water jugs in hand students from Gaithersburg High School joined visiting students from Japan in a walk for a good cause in honor of National Water Day.
MyMCMedia’s Valerie Bonk has the story of the meaning behind the their “walk for water.”
They didn’t know each other before their newest service project, but these students came together for one cause – to give back to those who aren’t as fortunate.
“We said ‘wow’ wouldn’t it be nice for the American students and the Japanese students to do some type of community service or some type of service learning project while they were here, so we came up with the H2O,” said Kim Curtis, Internship Coordinator at Gaithersburg High School.
Eighty students visiting Montgomery County on an exchange program from Yokohama Hayato High School in Japan joined Gaithersburg High School students in raising $2,000 for the Maria Aukiladora School in the Dominican Republic where water is a scarce resource.
“In many places there are children who have to walk for miles to one get to school and also to bring water to their schools and so this is symbolic today as we walk and carry water symbolizing other places in the world where running water is not the norm,” said Dr. Christine Handy-Collins, Principle at Gaithersburg High School.
So the group marched through Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg carrying jugs of water in honor of National Water Day, the annual day sponsored by the United Nations to encourage global water awareness.
Teachers and mentors for the students hope this cultural partnership opens the door for similar projects in the future.
“In Japan we don’t have many chances to do the volunteering together so it was a great opportunity for them to think about what volunteering means,” said Aya Kunitomi, a teacher at Yokohama Hayato High School in Japan.
The walk came after a cultural exchange program during the day where students from both countries shared their talents.
“I think it has been a really good day for the students because they have been able to exchange some cultural experiences and they did that with an assembly earlier today where there were some performances by the Japanese students as well as the American students so they exchanged some cultural kinds of things and then we are ending the day with this joint service project,” said Dr. Handy-Collins.
“They learned about how in other countries students don’t have water as easily as we do so it’s to get them to experience what it would be like to have to do that,” said Stephanie Libonati, a program manager at Sakura Educational Exchange USA.
Find more information about the project and how to donate to the cause here.
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'Walk for Water' Brings Gaithersburg, Japanese Students Together (Video)
With water jugs in hand students from Gaithersburg High School joined visiting students from Japan in a walk for a good cause in honor of National Water Day. MyMCMedia’s Valerie Bonk has the story of the meaning behind the their “walk for water.” They didn’t know each other before their newest service project, but these […]
Gaithersburg Students 'Walk for Water' (Photos)
Students at Gathersburg High School hit the street on March 24 to raise awareness and funding for “National Water Day.” The local students joined 80 visiting students from Yokohama Hayato High School in Japan as they walked through Bohrer Park on Summit Hill Farm in Gaithersburg. “World Water Day” is celebrated each year as an opportunity to […]
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