Middle school students raise thousands of dollars to drill water wells in Africa

POCATELLO – Students at Franklin Middle School not only got to play carnival games during school hours, but also raised money for a good cause.

The eighth-grade students from Phillip Whitworth’s classes did this by selling tickets to their peers for admission to the Annual Carnival Fundraiser, where they packed into the school’s gymnasium and played a huge variety of carnival games Wednesday. The funds raised go toward a charitable organization that drills water wells in Africa.

“Knowledge is useless without action,” Phillip said of the event.

This event was started by both Phillip and Jeanie Whitworth in 2019, inspired by a book read in the school district called “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park.

The novel chronicles both the story of a fictional character named Nya, an 11-year-old South Sudanese girl who has to walk eight hours a day just to bring home water, and the real-life Salva Dut, who founded an organization called Water for South Sudan. Nya meets Dut at the end of the novel after he brings a well to her community.

“So now that you know this, what can we do?” Whitworth said to his students. “And the easy answer is, we can build a well.”

To raise the money, the Whitworths and his students organized the school’s first annual carnival. Every year, the students choose which games they should do and sell tickets to their classmates and also donations from businesses and personal connections.

Camryn Robinson, a eighth-grader from Whitworth’s Honors English class, called the experience of gathering donations “nerve-racking” but added that it helped her and her classmates with their people skills.

“I feel like not a lot of people take children seriously sometimes. If you show people that (you) know what (you’re) talking about, and it’s not just a silly little carnival — it’s something that’s way bigger than that, I feel like that also helps people listen,” Camryn said.

Over the years, the students have raised money to drill three new wells and repair another three in south Sudan. These wells last for around 20 years, meaning that the wells they raised money for will still be operating when the students are in their early 30s.

“We might not be able to solve the whole problem, (but) we can absolutely solve the problem for some people,” Whitworth said.

This year, the students sold a little over 700 tickets for $5 each, raising around $3,500. But when factoring in business and personal donations, the students have raised more than $10,000, with donations still pending, according to the school district.

The students chose the around 50 games offered at this year’s carnival and operated them for their fellow students. Two eighth-graders, Asher Martin and Cameron DaBell, attended the carnival and told EastIdahoNews.com about the experience.

“I thought it was pretty cool. They were all pretty unique games (and) all had a different theme,” Asher said. “It was just a lot of fun.”

“They came up with some really good ideas,” Cameron agreed.

Both said the cause the money would go towards added to the experience. Cameron doesn’t think he would have gone if not for the charitable cause.

“I think it definitely has an impact on you,” Asher said. “You’re having fun in the gym with your friends, but you’re also helping all these people who don’t have necessities.”