On Wednesday March 26, Robinson’s Be UNICEF club held their annual water walk to spread awareness of a larger UNICEF goal. During the event, around 20 students–including the softball team–split into 4 teams and lugged buckets of water around an obstacle course to represent the struggles children in third-world countries face in accessing water.

UNICEF is a nonprofit organization founded to help create total equality for disadvantaged children around the world. The water walk was first created by UNICEF to raise awareness of what women and children must go through to provide water for their families, and has spread on a national level.

“I think it is beneficial for people to see in real life how other children live their lives,” Lena Nguyen (’20), secretary of Be UNICEF club, said. “It sends the message that you should be grateful for what you have because not everyone has such an easy access to water and the simple things in life.”

Although the water walk may be a national event, with UNICEF USA sending a kit and instructions manual to all who host one, Be UNICEF had to adapt for the Robinson environment. Instead of having a large football field with a complicated obstacle course, Be UNICEF had a small 20-25 feet span of field near the stands.

To simulate the different difficulties people undergo, club Senior President Alyssa Ackbar (’19) instructed the participants to do different activities as they ran back and forth with their water buckets, all while not spilling the water. Some of the different activities were high-knees to simulate rough terrain, carrying a teammate on your back to represent mothers carrying their children and even a girls-only round as girls are often the only ones who have to travel for water.

“I walked away with the message that kids in Africa, especially girls, really have to struggle to get water and it’s unfair,” John Weachter (’21) said.

Despite the gravity of the message, the atmosphere of the water walk was fun and light-hearted.  Many spilled their buckets while gong through the course, no one fell although in past years people have. After the event, the Be UNICEF officers passed out popsicles to all participants.

“Although it is a very serious situation, the lack of access to water, the water walk itself has a very fun mood because the sports teams that come and the club members that come know each other,” Ackbar said. “It’s basically running around an obstacle course and it’s hard but fun to participate.”

Water walk has been a Be UNICEF tradition for longer than any current club member can remember, and remains just one of the events Be UNICEF hosts throughout the school year to spread UNICEF’s message.