Just received an inspiring message from Paul Freedman, director of the Salmonberry School on Orcas Island in Washington State.  In March, his students, ages 6 - 12, participated in A Walk for Water.  Today I received this email: 

We finally finished collecting all our Amman Imman donations and are sending the checks today.  The total raised by our little group of 26 kids and their teachers and parents was $2,428.40.  They were very proud of their accomplishment.  We sincerely hope that this small gift will help to bring water to the people of the Azawak. 

Thanks so much for all the incredible work you are doing, and for providing such a wonderful opportunity for meaningful service learning for our students.
All my best,Paul

Paul's message touched me.  First, for the tremendous accomplishment of these young leaders in raising almost $2,500!   And also for the deeper and powerful message of motivation -  that we can do things way beyond what we think we are capable of achieving when we work together.   There is no limit!

Imagine...Collaborate....Persevere!

Make it happen! 

Tangarwashane girl waters a plant
in the children's garden

Plans for a Walk for Water 2012 are gearing up! Last weekend I met with a group of enthusiastic high school students who are helping me prepare the Lake Frank event. With their activism, awareness about the water crisis in the Azawak ripples outward and the tide of compassion for the children and families living there rolls in. Our goal this year is to raise $10,000. This amount can pay for faucets and animal troughs in a new village, and perhaps start a children's garden as well. With your help, we can do it! 

If you planning to come, please register right away (thank you, if you've already done so!). For your convenience, you can sign up online and create a personal fundraising page. However, we now realize that some prefer to use paper forms to register and raise funds. These are now readily available for you to download from one of the information centers below. Please register online; or fill out a registration form, give to the coordinator at your school, or mail it to us. Then, begin fundraising!  

Here is information about the two Walk for Water events being held in the DC area:

1.  On Saturday, May 12, the 6th annual Walk for Water will be held at Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland. For complete event information and forms, please visit our new Lake Frank Walk for Water Information Center.  

• Register online and create a personal fundraising page.
• Download the paper forms (for registration and fundraising) in the Information Center. 
• You'll find fundraising tools there as well.
• Raise at least $50 by May 4, and you'll get a new Walk for Water t-shirt, designed by students.

Please register today, and begin fundraising!  And feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

2. On Friday, May 25, The Boyd School is hosting their annual walk at Ellanor Lawrence Park in Chantilly, Virginia.  Visit The Boyd School Walk for Water Information Center for event details. Other schools are welcome to join!

• Register online and create a personal fundraising page. 
• Download the paper forms and fundraising tools in the Information Center.
• Raise at least $50 by May 17 to get a t-shirt.

If your school would like to join, or for more information about The Boyd School Walk for Water, please contact Rodney Berthold at (571) 321-0364, or email Rodney at westfieldsclass10@theboydschool.com.

I hope to walk with you at one of these events!    If you can't join us your presence will be missed!  You can still support us by making a gift online.  Thank you!

Register and fundraise online, or download paper forms!  

Lake Frank Information Center 

The Boyd School Information Center

Washington DC area schools and families, please join us on  May 12, 2012, for the 6th annual A Walk for Water at Lake Frank in Derwood, Maryland. Visit the Lake Frank Walk for Water Information Center for links, forms and event details.  Register and fundraise online or offline.   Hope to see you on May 12!

Organize A Walk for Water in your community. Visit our Walk for Water Campaign page on the Amman Imman website for materials and resources.  We have a planning guide and fundraising kit available that you can download.

The other day I learned about a young man who chose to give a gift to Amman Imman for his birthday.  Leonardo turned 13 on March 30th.  He is the first born child of Rudy and Kenia, Americans of Cuban and Nicaraguan descent.  Coming from their own humble beginnings, Rudy and Kenia have always tried to instill values of family, honesty, integrity and generosity in Leonardo and his younger siblings, Katerina and Lucas.  Rudy explained to me that he and his wife want their children to become aware of the bigger picture of our world and society.  They want them to understand that they need to "give something back".

Looking around the internet for a charity to support as he turned 13, Leo found Amman Imman. The struggle of people in the Azawak for water caught his attention quickly. Leo already knew that water is essential for survival.  He could not imagine the challenges that a child in the Azawak must go through, forced to search for water everyday in order to survive.   Losing access to water for one day was beyond Leo's imagination.  In his mind it was unthinkable to be unable to turn on a tap for months or years. Leo felt a deep concern for the children in the Azawak, especially the younger ones.  He imagined his own brother and sister living in those circumstances, and thought it would be a horrible situation for them to face.

Leonardo is an honor student at his Maryland middle school.  He plays football for a local little league team. "Leo is well liked and respected by his peers.  He has a great sense of humor," says his dad. "He's an amazing kid and I'm confident that he'll become an amazing man.  I'm proud of him everyday.  I love Leo, Katerina and Lucas very much...I'm the luckiest father in the world."

With the love, encouragement, and respect imparted by Rudy and his wife for their children, I think Leo and his brother and sister are the luckiest kids in the world.

Today I received a check for $100,  

Leonardo's gift to bring water to the Azawak.   

Water at last....fetching water from the fountain
 at Amman Imman's new borehole in  Ebagueye, 2012

This is part 3 (and final installment) of my World Water Day 2012 tour in Ventura County, California.  You can read part  1 here and part 2 here.

Performing Arts Center at Montessori School of Ojai

Transformation and potential

When I arrived at the Montessori School of Ojai on World Water Day, I immediately felt at home.  A beautiful setting with campus buildings, playgrounds, animal homes and school gardens nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains and hills, the staff and students obviously enjoyed a relationship of respect with each other and with nature.  I could see that this was a place where kids were allowed to be themselves and explore, while learning the skills and lessons necessary to empower them to make a difference in the world.

Compassion and continuity

I set up for two presentations in the school's arts center building.  The round yurt provided a wonderful setting and a meaningful symbol for the circle of compassion, continuity and collaboration our Wells of Love program stands for.  

First, I spoke with the youngest students, ages 3 through 6.  I shared our photos, talking to them about water.  It was easy for them to relate to their peers in Africa's need because this essential element is so common and apparent in their own lives.  

Movement beneath mountains

Next I spoke with a smaller group of upper elementary students and middle school students.  By their questions, I knew that these students were already engaged as reflective thinkers and empowered as global citizens.  Indeed, MSO participates yearly in the Montessori Model UN program.   Since they'd been learning about the Azawak for several years, participated in our Friendship Exchange in 2009 and held fundraising initiatives at their school, they were eager to hear about Amman Imman's new borehole and progress among the people in our borehole villages.  At the end of the program, we spend a lot of time on discussing their questions.    

Afterwards we took a walk for water around the athletic field. Some of the students carried jugs in symbolic support of children who are tasked with a daily search for water to survive.  

Gardens and growth

Here's a post from the MSO Facebook page about our World Water Day presentation and their pledge to continue raising funds for the Azawak:

Animal friends

Today Debra Kahn, Associate Director of Amman Imman and Program Director of the organization's service-learning component: Water is Life and Wells of Love, gave an amazing presentation for the students of MSO about water and life in the Azawak Valley of West Africa, a place where half a million people have no water for ten months out of the year.


Amman Imman is dedicated to improving and saving lives among the poorest and most abandoned populations of the world by drilling permanent sources of water, currently for the inhabitants of the Azawak Valley.


A few years ago, along with other Montessori schools around the world, we participated in the Montessori Wells of Love program, collecting change to donate for the drilling of a borehole well. We are happy to announce that MSO is participating again this year. Please feel free to send change or bills for your child to drop in one of the painted, five-gallon water bottles on campus - and together we can make a difference for the resilient people of the Azawak, giving them a chance to live without the indignity of daily thirst and the fear of water-borne illness.

I was especially moved when Cyrus, a middle school student, came to tell me how much he enjoyed the presentation and appreciated being able to help Amman Imman.  For me, this thoughtful young man, expressing his compassion and caring as I wrapped up my World Water Day tour, represented why I made the journey to California, and why we connect kids around the world - it's more than the extremely important mission of saving lives by providing the water, but also paving the way for the precious resource of kindness to be shared and expressed.

Wells of Love and collecting change to make a difference for the Azawak