Clean water only

Two 8th graders, Anya Kovalchuk and Dylan Jones, tried to carry water jugs on their heads by balancing them with a traditional Kenyan fabric. They were sore for a full week afterwards.

The staff and students at Hillsboro Elementary and Middle School in Franklin, Tennessee understand the importance of clean water in developing regions. In fact, many of the students live in rural areas and get their own water from wells like the ones they hope to provide for children in Africa.

Last May, the only beverage that Hillsboro students drank for two whole weeks was water. They called this the “two weeks of sacrifice” and the goal of the campaign was to fund the building of a clean water project through Free The Children’s Adopt a Village program. The students saved up all the change they would have spent on soda, milk or other beverages and donated it to their cause. Almost every single student at Hillsboro participated in one way or another.

And they didn’t stop there: they wouldn’t even let their teachers or parents off the hook! Students made sure teachers ditched their daily Diet Coke and asked their parents to go without their morning coffee. At the end of two weeks, the school had raised enough funds to complete an entire clean water project in Kenya!

Kindergarten students made and decorated drums and played them as they sang a Kenyan folk song.

This year, Hillsboro students are continuing to make a difference and are hoping to fund the building of a school in Kenya! They’re reviving their two weeks of sacrifice and will also be doing coin wars, holding a benefit concert and selling reusable water bottles printed with their school logo.

Hillsboro students feel connected to the children they’re helping and are committed to doing whatever they can to making a difference year after year!

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.