A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is a powerful short novel that intertwines two lives in Sudan across different decades: Salva Dut, a boy displaced by civil war in 1985, and Nya, a girl in 2008 whose daily routine revolves around walking long distances to collect water. Their alternating chapters slowly converge, revealing how access to clean water transforms communities—and how individual courage can ripple outward to change countless lives.
Plot Summary
Park alternates chapters between two timelines. In 1985, Salva is in school when gunfire erupts; soldiers attack, and the children flee into the bush with only the clothes on their backs. Salva becomes separated from his family and is thrust into a vast, uncertain trek with other refugees—across arid scrubland, through lion-haunted nights, and over the deadly Akobo Desert. Hunger gnaws; water is scarce; friends and relatives are lost along the way. His uncle Jewiir, a steadying, protective presence, helps Salva survive by teaching him to focus on the “next small step.” Even after tragedy strikes again, Salva keeps moving, eventually reaching refugee camps that are little safer than the wilderness.
In 2008, Nya’s life in Southern Sudan is consumed by water collection. Twice a day, she spends hours walking to a muddy pond with a heavy plastic container. The water is contaminated, causing illness in her family and limiting her chance to attend school. When strangers arrive to drill a well, Nya watches with curiosity and skepticism—can this really change anything? Gradually, the community unites around the project, and clean water begins to flow. The well’s arrival also leads to new possibilities: a clinic, a market, and a school for girls who no longer need to spend every daylight hour fetching water.
As the novel closes, the two narratives connect: the well in Nya’s village is made possible by Salva Dut, now grown and living partly in the United States. After years of displacement and perseverance, Salva returns to South Sudan to build wells through his nonprofit. Nya meets him, and a cycle of hardship gives way to a cycle of hope.
Key Characters
- Salva Dut: Compassionate, persistent, and quietly determined, Salva survives unimaginable trials and later transforms his grief into humanitarian action.
- Nya: Observant and practical, Nya represents the millions whose time, health, and education are stolen daily by unsafe water and long walking distances.
- Uncle Jewiir: Salva’s guiding force on the trek—modeling leadership, courage, and the discipline to “just take the next step.”
- Michael: An aid worker who teaches Salva English and helps him believe in a future beyond the camps.
- Salva’s companions: Fellow “Lost Boys” whose fates underscore the razor-thin line between survival and loss.
Themes & Messages
- Resilience in the face of chaos: Salva’s survival is built on small choices—keep walking, help the person beside you, refuse to surrender to despair.
- The cost of water scarcity: Nya’s storyline shows how unsafe water drives illness, hunger, and gender inequality by consuming girls’ time.
- Community and responsibility: The well is more than a water source; it’s a hub for health, education, and economic life.
- Hope as a discipline: Characters practice hope not as naive optimism but as daily, deliberate action.
- Interconnectedness: Choices made continents away (donations, engineering, policy) can reshape a village’s future.
Historical & Real-World Context
Salva’s journey is rooted in the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), which displaced millions and created the “Lost Boys” diaspora. The novel compresses and simplifies timelines for readability, but the conditions—violence, famine, dangerous crossings—reflect recorded realities. Nya’s contemporary chapters highlight the global water crisis, where hundreds of millions still lack safe drinking water, and women and girls bear the heaviest burden of water collection. Park’s fiction, then, is a bridge to nonfiction: readers finish the book understanding not only a story but a system.
Symbols & Motifs
- Water: Life, danger, and possibility. It can kill through scarcity or disease, yet it’s also the key to health, education, and dignity.
- Walking: Slow progress that adds up. Both Salva and Nya move one step at a time—toward safety, toward school, toward change.
- The gourd/container: A daily instrument of survival that symbolizes the weight girls carry—literally and socially.
- Thorn: Pain that cannot be ignored; like conflict or sickness, it must be addressed, not avoided.
Why the Dual Structure Works
Alternating timelines accomplish three things. First, it builds suspense: Salva’s immediate danger is contrasted with Nya’s quiet grind. Second, it creates empathy for different kinds of hardship—catastrophic violence versus slow deprivation. Third, it delivers a payoff when the narratives converge: the man who suffered as a child becomes the person who relieves another child’s suffering.
Key Lessons & Classroom Takeaways
- Small actions compound: Steps, sips, and days add up—whether on a desert trek or in a multi-year village project.
- Access unlocks agency: Clean water frees time and energy; education turns that time into opportunity.
- Leadership can be learned: Salva is not superhuman; he becomes a leader through practice, mentorship, and purpose.
- Tell stories that mobilize: Park’s narrative opens wallets and minds by making statistics human and specific.
Discussion Questions
- What does the novel suggest about the difference between surviving and living?
- How do Salva’s and Nya’s challenges mirror each other? Where do they diverge?
- Which moment most clearly shows hope as a choice rather than a feeling?
- How would your school day change if you had to fetch water for four hours first?
Timeline Snapshot (Fictionalized but Grounded)
| Year | Salva (1980s) | Nya (2008) |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Flees school as fighting erupts; joins refugee column. | Multiple daily trips to muddy water source; frequent illness at home. |
| Mid | Survives desert crossing with Uncle Jewiir; reaches camp. | Strangers arrive; survey and begin drilling a borehole near the village. |
| Late | Resettlement path opens; Salva chooses to help his homeland. | Clean water flows; prospects for school, a clinic, and a market appear. |
About the Author
Linda Sue Park is a Newbery Medal–winning author whose works often connect personal stories to larger histories. With A Long Walk to Water, she partnered with the real Salva Dut to highlight South Sudan’s water crisis and the measurable impact of wells. The novel’s accessibility—short chapters, clear prose, strong stakes—makes it a frequent choice for middle-grade and whole-school reads.
Real-Life Impact: Water for South Sudan
After years in refugee camps and resettlement, Salva Dut founded Water for South Sudan, a nonprofit that drills boreholes in rural communities. Each well can change village life: fewer waterborne illnesses, more kids (especially girls) in school, and time released for farming or small businesses. Many classrooms that read the book raise funds to sponsor a well, connecting literature to civic action. The novel’s final chapters demonstrate this feedback loop: a story inspires empathy; empathy inspires action; action creates new stories worth telling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is A Long Walk to Water based on a true story?
Yes. Salva Dut is a real person and one of the “Lost Boys” displaced by war. While some events are compressed for narrative clarity, the broad arc reflects experiences documented by aid agencies and journalists.
How old is the intended audience?
Commonly taught in grades 5–8, but many high school and adult readers find it resonant because of its layered themes and real-world connections.
What is the main message?
That resilience, community, and access to clean water can transform lives—and that individuals can spark that transformation.
Why is water such a central symbol?
Because it is both urgent and ordinary. Water can carry disease when contaminated, or carry opportunity when clean and close to home. Its presence or absence shapes every other decision a family makes.
How accurate is the book historically?
It aligns with the broad realities of Sudan’s civil conflicts and the experiences of displaced children. For classroom work, pair it with nonfiction on the Lost Boys, refugee crises, and the modern water gap.
Related Reads & Guides
- What Is Still Water?
- How Much Water Should I Drink a Day?
- Benefits of Sparkling Water
- Daily Water Intake Calculator
References
- Water for South Sudan — Official Site
- Goodreads — A Long Walk to Water
- NPR — Interview with Linda Sue Park
Want to go from empathy to impact? Explore credible clean-water groups, bring the novel into a service-learning project, or start a classroom challenge to fund a well. Small steps, taken together, change the map.
