FORT WORTH COUNTRY DAY TO HOST SALVA DUT, FOUNDER OF WATER FOR SOUTH SUDAN AND FORMER “LOST BOY”, ON OCTOBER 7
The public is invited to a free evening with Salva Dut to hear the inspiring true story
behind “A Long Walk to Water”
Fort Worth Country Day (FWCD) is honored to welcome
Salva Dut, the inspiring founder of
Water for South Sudan (WFSS) and a former "Lost Boy of Sudan," for a special community-wide event. The evening is free to attend and open to the public, and will take place on Wednesday, October 7, at 7 p.m. in the FWCD Scott Theater.
Dut’s extraordinary life story is chronicled in the
New York Times bestseller, “
A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park. Forced from his rural village at just 11 years old by the Sudanese Civil War, Dut joined thousands of boys on a harrowing journey on foot to seek safety in refugee camps across Ethiopia and Kenya. After a decade in the camps, he relocated to Rochester, New York, as a refugee. Years later, upon discovering his father was still alive but suffering from a severe waterborne illness, Dut was moved to take action. In 2003, he founded Water for South Sudan with the dream of drilling a single well for his father. That initial well in 2005 has since blossomed into hundreds of water projects delivering clean water, health, and opportunity throughout South Sudan.
The upcoming event will not only explore Dut’s incredible journey, but also celebrate the deep and highly successful partnership between WFSS and Fort Worth Country Day.
FWCD’s Student-Led Impact and the Annual Water Walk
Since the 2022-23 academic year, FWCD sixth graders and their teachers, Shari Lincoln and Anne-Lise Woods, have transformed a curriculum lesson on global challenges into a massive tradition of tangible action. Inspired by Dut's journey, the school's annual "
Water Walk" helps students build empathy by recreating the grueling daily trek many South Sudanese citizens make to access fresh water. To physically understand this burden, each student carries two one-gallon jugs of water—weighing roughly 16 pounds—for four miles (16 laps) around the FWCD track in just one hour.
In a special highlight of his visit to the FWCD campus, Dut will personally participate in the first lap alongside the sixth graders during this year's Water Walk, which will be held at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7.
Key milestones of the FWCD Water Walk initiative include:
- The Classes of 2029, 2030, 2031, and 2032 have collectively raised over $190,000 for WFSS.
- These student-driven funds have directly supported six new wells, two well rehabilitations, and multiple hygiene trainings in South Sudan.
- FWCD was named the WFSS Iron Giraffe Challenge’s 2023 Super School Winner after its inaugural Water Walk raised over $40,000.
Event Details
- What: An Evening with Salva Dut, Founder of Water for South Sudan
- Who: The public is invited, and the event is free to attend
- When: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 7 p.m.
- Where: FWCD Scott Theater, Fort Worth Country Day Campus – 4200 Country Day Lane, Fort Worth, TX 76109
- RSVP: Those wishing to attend should RSVP via email to advancement@fwcd.com or call 817.302.3204
ABOUT FORT WORTH COUNTRY DAY
Since 1963, Fort Worth Country Day has inspired the passion to learn, the courage to lead, and the commitment to serve through a program that fosters the intellectual, physical, emotional, and ethical development of its students. Situated on 104 acres in southwest Fort Worth, FWCD’s 220 faculty and staff members teach and support students in grades JK-12. Offering a comprehensive college-preparatory curriculum, Fort Worth Country Day focuses on the 3A’s—academics, arts, and athletics—and its core values to provide balanced experiences and opportunities for students. To learn more about Fort Worth Country Day, visit
www.fwcd.org
or
www.Facebook.com/FortWorthCountryDay.
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