Austin High School’S Academy of Global Studies students fund clean water for an entire grade-level of students in Burundi.
This is the eighth year students in Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies (AGS) have raised money for the Gazelle Foundation through a walk simulating some of the challenges of gaining daily access to clean water in Burundi. From everyone at the Gazelle Foundation and the many benefactors of clean water, Murakoze Cane! (Thank you very much!)
Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies students with Gilbert Tuhabonye and Stephanie Quirk experience the physical challenges of carrying water a distance comparable to someone who lives in rural Burundi Africa.
Austin High School track is located near Lady Bird Lake.
Each year, freshman students at Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies participate in the Gazelle Foundation’s Walk For The Water program. These students learn about the global water crisis, water quality issues, and the Gazelle Foundation’s work to bring clean water to those who need it most. As part of the program’s fundraiser, they participate in a simulation to collect and carry water a distance comparable to someone who lives in rural Burundi.
They also heard a first-hand account of what daily life is like without adequate infrastructure and safe running water from Gazelle Foundation co-founder Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert was born in Burundi and is now an Austin resident, philanthropist, running coach, and genocide survivor. He describes his own experiences growing up without access to water, and how he didn’t have a sip of clean water until he went to school in the first grade. He explains the physical challenges of carrying water, which the students get to experience for themselves with the simulation.
Stephanie Quirk a long-time supporter of the Gazelle Foundation volunteered at the event and shared her perspective.
“I've known Gilbert for nearly ten years. Balancing a full-time job and parenthood, I found it deeply moving to see students meet Gilbert and understand his story, as well as the Gazelle Foundation's mission. It was quite striking as they experienced the physical strain of carrying water for the first time. They did this using new buckets, comfortable footwear, and on a well-maintained track. The splashing water added to the physical discomfort of the task. It wasn't long before they grasped the harsh reality - the dire consequences of not having clean water and the difficulties in accessing it, and how it drastically impacts every facet of life.
The amount of time needed to finish this task is quite significant, leaving little room for anything else in daily life. It’s strikingly evident how not having access to clean water can have a profound impact. It’s a powerful reminder of why the Gazelle Foundation’s efforts are so crucial and urgent.”
— Stephanie Quirk
AGS students walk from their Austin High School campus to adjacent Lady Bird Lake to collect water as part of the simulation. The lake located in the heart of Austin is partially fed by creeks that wind through urban landscapes, picking up debris. It is considered safe for recreation purposes, but it is not safe to drink.
The Walk Simulation
The Walk For The Water simulation begins with teams of students carrying empty 5-gallon water buckets from their campus to the trail at Lady Bird Lake. The lake located in the heart of Austin is partially fed by creeks that wind through urban landscapes, picking up debris. It is considered safe for recreation purposes, but it is not safe to drink.
Students struggle to keep their feet and clothes dry as they navigate on the slippery culvert to fill the buckets. They comment on the smell, temperature, water quality, back-breaking work, or ducks swimming by.
Back on campus they work in teams to carry the buckets around the track. They trade off carrying duties, some foist the jug onto their heads. They all struggle with the large, awkward containers that are now dripping wet and weigh 40 pounds. Thirsty and exhausted none of them are tempted to drink it, they know it could make them ill.
Since its inception, the Academy of Global Studies Walk For The Water program has been shepherded by Devon Steiner, freshman biology teacher, who has been to Africa and knows first-hand the challenges of water scarcity. She also knows the power the simulation has on her students, and these lessons empower the students to become socially responsible global citizens.
Students at Austin High School Academy of Global Studies participate in Walk For The Water, May 2024. Austin High School serves 2,349 students in grades 9-12. Gazelle Foundation designs and builds clean water infrastructure in Burundi, Africa. Water is captured from a hilltop spring source before it can become contaminated. It is filtered in the collection chamber and uses gravity to flow onward. Entrenched PVC pipe carries water to tanks, and to multiple tap stands. Tap stands are strategically positioned within easy walking distance to schools, churches, community centers, and other central locations to maximize access points for residents. Water is available for free to all people regardless of the person’s tribe or religion.
Outcomes
This year, Academy of Global Studies students collectively fundraised enough to provide an entire grade level of students in a typical Burundi school with access to clean water.
Austin High School is part of the transformative effort to build clean water systems in one of the world’s poorest countries, bringing clean water to the people who need it most. All of the money raised for the Gazelle Foundation through the program provides Burundians access to clean drinking water.
Since the partnership began in 2017, approximately 1,400 freshmen have participated, raising a total of $47,597, which equates to 1,586 people in Burundi who now have daily access to clean water.
Walk For The Water has achieved remarkable tangible results and continues to gain momentum.
How Gazelle Foundation water systems work:
“This is impacting a small village in Burundi. Imagine what you and your network can do for the people on the ground in Burundi. ”
CLEAN WATER MEANS EDUCATION IN BURUNDI
Former Austin High School student Daniel McCutcheon, who helped start the Walk For The Water program, shares his vision and motivation.
It is hard enough to be a student, but it’s infinitely harder without clean water.
Without access to clean water, people must spend valuable time collecting water for daily use, and they are sick more often, due to preventable water-borne diseases. Both of these have a disproportionate impact on children, whose school attendance suffers because they are needed at home or are simply ill. With clean, accessible water, these barriers to education disappear.
The availability of clean water and the resulting improvements in health and education begin to reverse the cycle of poverty. According to the World Bank, returns on education investment are the largest in Africa over any other continent, and each additional year of schooling raises earnings by 11% for boys and 14% for girls. Meet Adronis, a student who now has daily access to clean water. Learn more about the water system built near his school. This system serves a total of 1,700 area residents, including nearly 650 students at Rubanga School.
Join Our Mission
We thank these generous teachers, students, and families at Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies for changing the lives of people in Burundi through access to clean water.
Each of our events is an opportunity to provide clean water to those that need it most. Connect to our community here in order to transform lives in a community in Burundi.