Kenosha's Roosevelt Elementary School’s Gift of Empathy

Roosevelt Elementary School's 4th grade students of Kenosha, Wisconsin raised $1,050 for Aid Africa’s Children’s project to bring clean water to Africa.

On June 2, 2017,  students walked the entire perimeter of the school carrying plastic gallon jugs filled with water demonstrating the demands placed African children face daily to help their families. Living a day in another’s shoes proved to be a valuable heartfelt lesson in empathy especially when some of the students struggled carrying the water and dropped their water jugs.  It is common for African children to walk several miles carrying heavy water jugs for the family’s drinking, cooking and hygiene needs.  

Under the leadership of Principal Nola Starling - Ratliff and 4th grade teachers, Donna Rover, Mary Becker, Dawn Propsom and  Charlie Basaldua organized a walkathon where  students collected pledges for donations from family and friends. 

The $1,050 raised from the walkathon support a much needed rain water collection system to provide water during the severe long droughts Tanzania’s Ntemba villagers endure.  The rain water collection system is expected to help conserve water resources.