Students at Nansemond River High School raised money with two partner schools recently to build a water well at a school in South Sudan.

“They know they’ve actually accomplished something,” said Master Sgt. Kevin Young, the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps teacher at Nansemond River High School.

The elective course not only is about learning aerospace science but also is about good citizenship, leadership, discipline and even how to properly fill out job applications and write resumes, Young said. A big part of this program is completing a number of community service projects.

In the past, the group has done a lot to help the local community as well, including a coat drive, food drive and placing Christmas wreaths on gravestones at a veterans’ cemetery during the holidays, Young said.

After hearing about people helping provide water overseas, the teacher did some research. It was then that he learned about the H2O for Life organization and felt it was an important need to fulfill, he said.

Each well costs $3,850 to build, said Young. The students raised $815 last school year and raised $1,300 for a different well in Uganda the year before, Young said.

Students raised this money by asking other students and faculty members to donate, Young said. However, donations by businesses in the area are also accepted. “I want to open it up to anybody,” Young said.

“The students are excited about this upcoming year,” Young said. “They already want to do another well someplace else.”

The water that is brought to these towns is used for drinking, sanitation and even the building of mud bricks, Young said. Prior to having the wells, communities held school under trees because there was no water to build buildings, Young said.