Produced by the 5th grade Language Arts students at FDIS

Whats
Inside?

The Green Wall:

Stopping Desertification in the
Gobi Desert

The amazing
true story of
Lost Boy
Salva Dut

April 23th, 2014

Free!

Crossword Puzzle: Test

your knowledge of H20
related vocabulary.
Can complete it?

Water Crisis in Niger

How FDIS plans to help
by Kyiesha Kripilani and Ashley Guo
Would you like to help people in Africa get clean water?
If you do, come to FDIS on April 26th from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m
and join our FDIS students raise money to build a well in
Niger. A program called Amman Imman calls schools, groups
and individual people to raise funds that will help children and
families that are suffering from droughts. We can improve
their lives if we really want to.
Amman Imman is organizing an event called A Long Walk
for Water. A Long Walk for Water is an event that shows you
how long, children, or maybe even families, travel to get
water. We will raise enough money toward building a well in
Niger by asking our friends and families for pledges based on
how many laps we walk or run. For example, if a student gets
a pledge for 5 RMB and he walks 20 laps, he would earn 100
RMB for that pledge. If students want to earn more money,
they have an option of carrying large jugs of water. We would
really like you to participate, and thank you in advance for
your support!

Who is Amman Imman?

Amman Imman is an
organization that helps people in
the Azawak region of Niger. This
organization has been running for
about 9 years. There has been no
response from other countries to
help Azawak. The first successful
Amman Imman project was to
construct a borehole for 25,000
people and animals in the village of
Tangerwashane.
Amman Imman was
associated with the Friendship
Caravan, and then they became an
independent organization. Both
organizations work closely to help
children in Azawak. With the help
of young children worldwide they
built a well in Kijigari. This borehole
was finished in June 2010, provides
enough water for 6,000 people in
the village and 20,000 others. We
hope to improve many lives in
Azawak by supporting Amman
Imman.

April 23rd, 2014

The Green Wall of China

Stopping the Gobi Deserts Spread
By Kate and Ryan
Everyone in China is experiencing bad pollution.
Do you know why? I think the biggest reason is
desertification in China. With more buildings being
constructed in China, more natural resources are being
used including land and water.
Some of the worst desertification in the world is
happening in China. The Gobi desert is growing toward
Beijing. People are figuring out how to solve this problem.
The Gobi desert is the fifth largest desert in the
world largely because of its location. It spans two
countries, northern China and up to northern Mongolia.
All the rain is blocked by the highest mountain range in
the world: the Himalayas. However, human actions play a
role, too.
Whatever the reasons, the Gobi desert continues
to grow towards Beijing. The Chinese Government had
been thinking and thinking about how to stop it. At last,
they had an idea: the Great Green Wall. The Green Wall
is all about planting trees on the edge of the Gobi desert.
Doing this will stop the soil moving all around, as the soil
will be held by the trees roots. The sand will get blocked
by the trees.
Now, the Gobi desert is still growing towards
China, but people are trying to stop it. If they dont, China
will be in danger of becoming a desert!

The Gobi Desert is located in Mongolia and China.

The Gobi Desert may not be as boring as you think!

The Gobi desert is cold; snow can be seen there. The

temperature can fall to minus 40 degrees!

Scientists found the first fossilized dinosaur eggs in

history and other great fossils discoveries in the Gobi
Desert. Those fossils were there before the Great
Mongolian Empire.

The Gobi was a part of the Silk Road from Europe to

China traveled by Marco Polo, the famous Italian
explorer. He encountered Gobi fables from Asia back
to Venice. He wrote about his journey in the book,
Travels of Marco Polo.

A Lost Boy Comes Home

The Story of Salva Dut
by Ethan and Benjamin
The war in Sudan has already killed more than 500,000 people
and forced a huge number of people to leave their homes. Among
these people, there were at least 20,000 children, mostly boys,
between 7 and 17 years of age who are separated from their families.
These lost boys of Sudan walked an enormous distance over
endless, unforgiving nature, seeking refuge from conflict. Since 1992
UNICEF has managed to reunite nearly 1,200 boys with their families.
While many others who could not find their families went to the USA
with the help of UNICEF, there are about 17,000 who remain in
refugee camps.

Salva Dut, a real-life hero!

Salva Dut, one of the lost boys of Sudan, was sent to New
York and was adopted by a new family. Before he moved to the USA,
He walked for an incredible distance from his school to Ethiopia, and
then from Ethiopia to other refugee camps. He also went through
terrifying things. For example, his friend was eaten by lions, his uncle
was killed by people from the Nuer tribe, and he crossed a river full of
crocodiles while Ethiopian soldiers were shooting from behind. It left
scars in his memory, but he was brave and survived.
Now, Salva is the head of a group that digs wells and makes
lives easier for people in South Sudan. His first well in 2005 had a
transforming effect: schools, markets, and clinics emerged. More and
more people were influenced by Salvas charity, and started
organizing more charities to help people in need. Also, brick-making
businesses immediately sprouted up to provide materials for the
wells. The business helped Salva to expand his efforts. Overall, Salvas
organization is successful. Now, however, conflicts are starting again
in Sudan, so, Salvas work has become far riskier and more dangerous.

Salva drilling a well in Sudan.

Here, Salva is helping to build a well in

South Sudan. The red machine is a
powerful drill. It can dig very deep to reach
underground water. Way to go, Salva!

Linda Sue Parks A Long Walk to

Water
by Daniel and Karena
Sudan has long suffered from war. It has very little water. The
most terrifying war was between the Islamic government in the north
and the many tribes in the south. They fought because of different
religions and for the land with good resources. That war lasted for
more than ten years. Violence has begun once again, even though the
north and the south have split into two countries. In English class, we
read a novel based on a true story called A Long Walk to Water by
Linda Sue Park based on war-torn Sudan.
There are two time periods in this story. The first is around
1985, while the other takes place around 2008. The story in 1985 is
about a boy named Salva surviving during the war. The story around
2008 is about a girl named Nya looking for water. When Salva grew up,
he began to drill wells for his own tribe and the Nuer tribe, against
which his tribe often fought. His program is called Water for Sudan.
I learned a lot of things from this story. For example, I learned
that Sudan that is a desert now. Before, it was a grassland where cows
could graze. I learned that there were actually wild areas right next to
their villages. I also learned that even though there was water below
the ground they could not get to it.
The book makes me see things in life differently. For example I
use to waste a lot of water when I washed the dishes and when I
showered, but after reading this book I learned that there are many
places in the world that hardly have any water. After reading this book
I started to save water and other kinds of resources. If you are
interested in Salvas story, you should find a copy of A Long Walk to

April 23rd, 2014

Give Up Your Phone

Whats a Walk For Water?

Fight for Lives

Why Should I Join?

by Nicole

Ashley explains it all

Can you put down your phone for 10 minutes?

Give it a try. Since 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project has
helped children worldwide for clean water. This
year, 2014, the UNICEF Tap Project challenges you to
save a child's life by putting down your phone. If you
dont touch your phone for just 10 minutes, the
UNICEF Tap Project gives 1 day of clean water to a
person in need. Donating $5 can provide clean water
for a child for 200 days.

If you are a generous person and what to help those in

need of clean water resources, please join in or support walkers
and runners. A walkers and runners event is when students ask
their family and friends for pledges based on how many laps
they walk or run. Many children in Africa have to walk many
miles to get water for their families to use. Walking back and
forth will usual take many hours for the children.
Walkers and runners events basically symbolize the walks
made by these children while raising money to build wells or
other clean water resources. Almost every person in Saharan
Africa simply wishes for clean water. We are able to grant these
simple wishes by just participating in a walkers and runners
event. You participation will be help many people earn access to
clean water. If you join us, more and more people will be able to
live without the fear of dehydration and water sicknesses.
We should be thankful for the water we have, because in
many different countries people dont even have any access to
clean water. Why not help these people?

Clean water can be helpful in many different

ways: in more ways than you think! Clean water can
save lives. Everyday children die from diseases
caused by drinking contaminated water. Clean water
can also save time. People in undeveloped countries
spend more than 40 billion hours to get water while
people that live in more prosperous countries are
doing other activities. For example, many girls in
countries like Niger arent able to go to school
because they must fetch water all day for their
families! I hope that we as a group all come together
to help the countries with less clean water to drink.
What is UNICEF?
UNICEF works toward a day when zero children
die from things we can fix. Every day, many children
die under the age of 5 dies from disease that most
developed countries dont worry about, such as
drinking contaminated water, die of thirst or hunger
due to drought, and suffer from preventable
diseased due to a lack of proper vaccines. UNICEF
works to solve these problems.

The Mugs

Faucet Fury

Be Careful What You Dress As

The Water Waster

A Day in the Life of Nya

by Benjamin

by Karena

by Kyiesha

by Nicole

by Christine

Water Words!
Christine

by Alessandro and

Participate in the FDIS

WALK FOR WATER

Benefitting Amman Imman: Water is Life

April 26th, 2014

FDIS, 9:00 11:00

RAIN OR SHINE!
Walk for Donations * Play Games * Purchase Cool Items at the
Rummage Sale * SLIME a teacher * Enter the Raffle

Hope to see you there!