Regan Sullivan is a senior at PLP with plans to study pre-med. She has a special interest in women’s health and hopes to become an OB/GYN.
Tieran Sullivan is a junior at PLP and plans to major in biology
Two sisters, students at Pine Lake Prep, were inspired from a visit from Salva Dut, the founder of Water for South Sudan, and hero of the Linda Sue Park novel, "A Long Walk to Water."
PLP's seventh graders read "A Long Walk to Water" each year and hold doughnut sales to raise money for the nonprofit organization. Schools raising $1,000 and more are entered to win an in-person visit from Dut, which PLP was fortunate to win in May 2018.
Regan and Tieran Sullivan created a summer project to improve hygiene for school age girls in South Sudan.
After meeting Dut in middle school and becoming more involved with Water for South Sudan (WFSS), the girls have continued to stay in touch and promote a girls hygiene program. This summer, the Sullivan girls sewed reusable feminine hygiene kits to include pads, panties, soap and wash cloths for girls in South Sudan. Not only does this provide a more sanitary product for these young girls, but it also allows them to stay in school, when they would otherwise be made to stay home.
While the hygiene program is still in its infancy stage with the first latrine being installed in 2018, the girls are excited to continue to partner with WFSS and supply more kits for 2021 with the installation of their next latrine.
Dut's story, and that of the other "Lost Boys" of South Sudan, is told in Parks's novel. Dut as a teenager, led 1500 "Lost Boys" hundreds of miles through the Southern Sudan desert to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
For more information, got to http://www.waterforsouthsudan.org/salvas-story/.
