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Walk for Water supports Ghanaian town’s well

Published 11:30 am Thursday, April 23, 2026

By Matthew Nash

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Sequim High School Interact Club members and a representative with the Sequim Sunrise Rotary gather for a photo after filling buckets and containers for the annual Walk for Water event. Students walked about four miles on April 18 as part of a fundraiser to build a well in Ghana.
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Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash

Sequim High School Interact Club members and a representative with the Sequim Sunrise Rotary gather for a photo after filling buckets and containers for the annual Walk for Water event. Students walked about four miles on April 18 as part of a fundraiser to build a well in Ghana.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Sequim High School Interact Club members and a representative with the Sequim Sunrise Rotary gather for a photo after filling buckets and containers for the annual Walk for Water event. Students walked about four miles on April 18 as part of a fundraiser to build a well in Ghana.
John Pehrson, Interact Club president, leads a group of Sequim High School students for the Walk for Water on April 18. Students carried water from the Dungeness River symbolizing how far some people must go for water every day.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Jessie Bainbridge fills a jug during Sequim High School’s Walk for Water event. She was one of 20-plus students to participate in the event that raised funds for a well in Ghana.
Mason Rapelje, an Interact Club member, holds up a jug of water during the Walk for Water event on April 18 at the Dungeness River Railroad Bridge.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim High School Interact Club members start their journey from Sequim Middle School to the Dungeness River to fill buckets and containers to symbolize how far some people in the world must travel for water.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Interact Club members fill jugs and cartons to carry hundreds of pounds of water from the Dungeness River to Sequim Middle School as part of their annual Walk for Water fundraiser to purchase and build a well through Rotary International.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Kaylee Torres readies her bucket to fill with water from the Dungeness River for the Walk for Water event.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Nico Musso fills an empty milk carton at the Dungeness River for the Walk for Water event.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Interact Club members fill jugs and cartons to carry hundreds of pounds of water from the Dungeness River to Sequim Middle School as part of their annual Walk for Water fundraiser to purchase and build a well through Rotary International.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Students begin their journey from the Dungeness River back to Sequim Middle School with jugs and buckets filled with water for Sequim High School’s Interact Club’s annual Walk for Water fundraiser.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Students walk by the Dungeness River Nature Center during Sequim High School’s Interact Club’s annual Walk for Water fundraiser.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Interact Club adviser Chelsea Reichner takes a photo with Mason Rapelje and other students during the club’s annual Walk for Water event.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Interact Club members gather for a photo before they begin on a four mile hike for the club’s Walk for Water fundraiser.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim High School Interact Club members get ready to begin their journey from Sequim Middle School to the Dungeness River to carry cartons and buckets filled with water for the club’s annual Walk for Water fundraiser.
Photo courtesy Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club/ Last year’s Walk for Water helped sponsor a well for a schoolhouse in Ghana.

Once again, a group of dedicated local teens sought out and received support to pay for a well in Ghana.

Sequim High School’s Interact Club raised more than $5,400 in donations for the well from local businesses and Sequim Sunrise Rotary club members.

Interact Club President John Pehrson said the Walk for Water shows it’s “really important for the community to not only serve itself, but serve the world as a whole.”

“A big part of our mission is to think locally and act globally,” he said.

As part of the campaign, students walked on April 18 from Sequim Middle School to the Dungeness River. They filled and carried bottles and buckets to symbolize the journey people must undergo for water every day.

Students walked about four miles total.

Their efforts last year supported installing a well for a schoolhouse of more than 700 children and the town.

The club and Sequim Sunrise Rotary send funds to Rotary International to install a well and pump.

Signage goes up recognizing the effort, rotary members said.

Sequim students said wells help children and families have better access to water and not be late to school.

Laila Sundin, last year’s club president and a SHS senior, has participated all four years of high school in the event and said participating for the fourth time brings a sense of completion for her.

She said the event has helped her engage with the community, think about the world on a bigger scale and to form a strong bond with classmates.

“This is such a model of what a community should be,” she said.

Ashton Reichner, another senior, has participated in the event since its inception in 2016 when she was in elementary school because her mom Chelsea is the club adviser. Before entering high school though she wanted to get involved, and joined Interact Club.

For the last two years she’s designed the event’s hoodies as publicity chair.

“It feels good to be part of a community, and serving communities other than our own,” she said.

“It’s nice to work towards something bigger than ourselves.”

Pehrson said Walk for Water also shows “we have such a great group of young adults coming together to do good.”

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