Comparing Nya And Salva's Journeys In A Long Walk To Water

In the book, A Long Walk to Water, a universal theme presents itself when the reader realizes that perseverance and hope will get you through the worst of times. Nya and Salva, the main characters, have to go through terrible journeys through the desert of Sudan, for water and for freedom. When war comes to Salva’s home land, he is forced out of Village and forced out of his home country, in order to achieve freedom. After years of walking and living in refugee camps, Salva found a family in America. Although, Salva didn’t stay there for long. He planned a trip to see his family, and later give water to villages throughout Sudan that didn’t have water. Nya, a girl who lived in Sudan while Salva lived in America, had to travel for hours a day just for

Her villages “local” pond had some water, but it was dirty and filled with leeches. Salva wanted to insert fountains to villages all around Sudan, and when Salva visits Nya’s village, both of the amazing stories connect. After perserverance and hope, both Nya and Salva got through tough times, and so did many other villages and refugee all throughout Africa. In the book, Nya showed perseverance walking to and from the pond every day for water so that her family could stay healthy and hydrated. She also never lost hope that clean water would soon come. Similarly, Salva showed perseverance and hope. For example, on pages 81 and 82, the book states,”Most of all, he remembered how Uncle encouraged him in the desert. One step at a time… One Day at a time. Just today-just this day to get through… Salva told himself this every day. He told the other boys in the group, too. And one day at a time, the group made it to Kenya. More than twelve hundred boys arrived safely. It took them more than a year and a half.” It would have been easy to quit and accept death, but Salva kept going and encouraged other