together this collection of videos about A Long Walk to Water by
Linda Sue Park. A Long Walk to Water is a historical fiction
children’s novel based on real people and actual events. It follows the lives of
two people (Salva and Nya) during different periods of time. Salva Dut’s story
takes place in the mid-1980s during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Nya’s story
takes place in the 2000s, shortly before South Sudan gained its independence.
Keep reading to learn about the history and events behind the story!
About A Long Walk to Water
🍎Author’s Summary: A Long Walk to Water begins as two
stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in
Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching
water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes
two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the
“lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on
foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay.
Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed
rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a
survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an
astonishing and moving way. Includes an afterword by author Linda
Sue Park and the real-life Salva Dut, on whom the novel is based,
and who went on to found Water for South Sudan.
🍎Author: Linda Sue Park
🍎Publisher: Clarion Books
🍎Year Published: 2011
About Salva Dut
Salva Dut was born in a rural village in southwestern Sudan
to the Dinka tribe. At 11 years old, the Sudanese Civil War
reached his village and separated Salva from his family. He
joined thousands of boys, famously known as the “Lost Boys,”
on their journey by foot to seek safety in refugee camps in
Ethiopia and Kenya. After living in refugee camps for 10
years, Salva was given the opportunity to move to the United
States, where he was embraced by a family in Rochester, New
York. Several years later, Salva learned that his father was
still alive in Southern Sudan but was suffering with disease
caused by waterborne parasites. His father’s illness inspired
Salva to help both his father and his country by bringing
clean water to those in need. This was the beginning of Water
for South Sudan.
Learn about Salva Dut, his family, and why he started his
organization Water for South Sudan.
In this video, Salva Dut talks with a group of students about
his life in Sudan, the civil war in Sudan, how he came to the
United States and why he started Water for South Sudan.
This video describes the mission of
Water for South Sudan and how
Water for South Sudan is bringing clean drinking water
to communities in Africa.
A Long Walk to Water depicts Salva Dut’s dangerous journey
as a lost boy of South Sudan. This video explains what a
lost boy is and some of the life-threatening challenges these
children had to go through to find safety.
Did you enjoy this post about A Long Walk to Water? If so,
check out these blog posts for more children’s books you might
like:
search words: Sudan, Africa, water, clean water, water conservation,
social studies, reading, language arts, ELA
