Dear Students,

This book is one of those books.  You know. Those books that I remember…will read again and again…and will always think about. Salva and Nya’s stories are real. Just think about that for a moment…they are real. I look into the faces of the students sitting in front of me and I think about Salva and Nya. They are the same age as you…my students. I worry about the Salvas and the Nyas and the Akeers of the world. I wish that they didn’t have to struggle for things like water and a safe place to live.

Reading this book is hard! I want to close the book and not know. I want to not know that there are such terrible things going on in our world…but I can’t. I know now. Whenever I read this book, I think, “What can I do? How can I make things better for kids in Africa?” I want everyone to have clean water. I want every child to feel safe and loved. How do I do that?

I don’t know. I do know this. I will do something. I will start here. Where I live….where I work. I will make sure that the students, kids, that I see everyday feel safe and important. I will make sure that they feel like they matter! And I will search for ways that I can do something. Make a difference. What will you do?

Be good today and I’ll see you tomorrow! (I miss you guys!) Remember…