Water is a basic human right, but in the western world, that fact is often forgotten due to easy access and wastage.

In an effort to inform the student population of 91原创 Secondary School and to help a village in India gain access to safe drinking water, Desiree Wallace and the school鈥檚 Social Justice Club put on the Five Days for Thirst, which will end this Thursday with the Walk for Water.

During each of the five days, the club hosts an event over the lunch period, meant to get LSS students鈥� attention about issues to do with contaminated water and to get them involved.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to spread the message as humbly and as loudly as we can,鈥� said Wallace.

The club has set out to raise $5,000 for Free the Children, a non-governmental organization involving children helping other children by teaching them about the developing world. Together with Free the Children, they will use the money to provide a village in India with a clean water sanitation system.

To raise funds, the club is selling water bottles for $10 during the lunch.

鈥淎 big part of it is trying to raise the money, but it鈥檚 also to raise awareness,鈥� said Megan Shergool, a Grade 12 student and club member.

In the developing world, seven people will die each minute from the diseases in contaminated water.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to build awareness,鈥� said Wallace.

The club, which was formed in February of this year, is a group of Grade 9 to 12 students hoping to abolish apathy in their school. The group planned the week of events around team work and group-oriented activities.

Monday, May 2 was the Web Race, where teams had to climb through an intricate web-like structure, and the two teams, each with seven students, had to make their way through the spaces in the web in one minute without touching the web in any way.

After completing the one minute task, the second team was victorious with five people through the maze, while the other team had four people through.

The competition tested their strategy skills, but also demonstrated to students what a minute means in the developing world.

On Thursday, May 5, the Walk for Water will take place at the school, when students will make a 12 lap walk around the track, each carrying two four-litre milk jugs filled with river water. This symbolizes the walk that men and women make every day in the attempt to get clean water.

The club will also be holding an art auction on Thursday,at Timms Community Centre in 91原创 City, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Local artists will be featured and will be donating 80 per cent of their profits to the water project.

On Saturday, May 7, the club members will be at Ten Thousand Villages in 91原创 City selling their water bottles. On that day, 10 per cent of the store鈥檚 daily profit will be donated to the project.

To donate to the club鈥檚 cause or for more information contact Mr. Carlyle at mcarlyle@sd35.bc.ca.