A Long Walk to Water - Response

Reading Response - A Long Walk to Water

The horrors of war have ravaged the country of  Sudan. The country had two civil wars, and there was an ancient rivalry between the two main tribes, the Dinka and the Nuer. All this violence and hate has wrecked Sudan and all its people. Thousands displaced people had to move to Ethiopia and Kenya. One of those people was Salva Dut. A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, describes the journey of Salva, a boy who lost his family and tries to find his place in the world during the civil war, and Nya, who must walk eight hours simply for water each day. Together, these two stories help illustrate the horror of war, but also the sheer determination one must have to survive.

“One problem at a time - just figure out this one problem,” that was Salva’s mantra throughout his journey to find a safe haven. As child, without his family, he was alone. He managed to find help with groups of stragglers journeying to the nearest refugee camp. However, he would always get left behind. Others saw him as a burden, just another mouth to feed. He was looked down by just about everyone. After all, there were plenty of orphans in Sudan. But, instead of just giving up,  he strode on. He even tried to eat less and do more for the group he was traveling with, just to show that he was of value and shouldn’t be left behind. Even after he reached Ethiopia and the refugee camp, he wasn’t safe. “How can I go on without them? But how can I not go on? They would want me to survive…to grow up and make something of his life…to honor their memories.” Instead of facing defeat at his family’s apparent demise, he promised himself he would keep going, to not let them die in vain.

Nya has to walk 8 hours every day just to get water for her family. The simple task have getting the necessary water for survival comes at great costs for Nya. She injures herself on occasion and wears down her feet and she can’t even get an education because she must provide for her family first. All of this happens in hot dry weather. It is incredibly exhausting. Yet she does it because her family needs her, and she can’t not fetch water. After all this, the water she gets starts sickening her sister, and they are advised to no longer drink the water. This puts Nya and her family in a tough position. Everyone needs water to live, but what do you do when what you need is slowly killing you? Nya has to handle all this, which is very difficult for a young child, and has to no way to change it. All she can to is just get her water and do her best for her family.

Eventually, Salva gets sent to America and gets taken in by a nice American family, but his determination doesn’t stop just because he’s in a safe place. Now, he does his best to get water fro villages across Sudan, including Nya’s. He tries to make Sudan a better place to live and give hope to those who currently live there. He had to go around America, pleading to various groups like schools and churches, for donations. He continuously tries to do good for others. Now thanks to him, Nya will no longer have a long walk to water. Even through violence and all the hell he experienced, instead of washing his hands of the entire situation, he went bak to help. He even discovered what happened to his family along the way. His determination saved so many people.

        In conclusion, determination and effort help people survive. You can’t give up, otherwise the violence catches up to you. Overall, we can learn several things from A Long Walk To Water. Violence destroys people. It leaves destruction in its wake. But through all of that, people don’t give up. But not only that. Through everything, people can find hope. Hope to go on. And that inspires me. Certainly these people have gone through more than I have. And the fact that they can survive and thrive, makes me realize the hope in all of us.