STUDENTS from Ararat’s Marian College have developed an increased understanding of what it would be like to live without running water.
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The college’s whole student cohort walked from the school to Green Hill Lake and back on Friday in order to put themselves in the shoes of those living in less developed countries.
At the lake students filled containers of water which they then carried back to the college on the 4.5-kilometre trek.
College head of wellbeing Steph Saravanja said the walk was part of St Brigid’s day celebrations.
“We’re looking at hope and social justice,” she said.
“The morning was spent looking at the discrepancies between the first and third world.
“The day was broken up into learning, experiencing and giving – the walk was part of experiencing what many people in the world have to do in order to access water.”
The students set off just after 11am.
Police helped the large group cross the Western Highway at the round-a-bout at the end of the Barkly Street.
The first in the large procession of students arrived at the lake by 11.40am before filling their containers for the return journey.
By 12.45pm most of the students had returned to the college having gained a valuable perspective.
“It’s important to the college that our students understand world issues as well as developing empathy and compassion,” Ms Saravanja said.
“It helps them think about what sort of citizen they want to be as they move forward and out into the world.”
She said the walk provided a good chance for students to come together as a group.
“I also hope that in the back of their minds they are thinking about some of those people that might have to struggle,” she said.
“The ones that need to carry 18 kilograms of water back to their homes or risk their lives to access necessities.
“Those are the issues we spent the morning looking at.”
In the afternoon the college hosted a talent show as part of ongoing fundraising efforts.
Students have driven the college’s commitment to support a Bangladesh kindergarten since 2012 through the Fred Hyde Foundation.