Chicago students raise awareness about lead in water

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A third-grade class, inspired by an ABC7 I-Team story, is raising awareness about the effects of lead in water.

Kwadwo Oppoang Wadie's class at Village Leadership Academy used an I-Team story as their inspiration for their yearlong grassroots campaign project. Students shared what they've learned with their classmates and the community.

"So I saw a little clip online and one reporter had done something on, you know water and lead contamination so I reached out to that reporter," Wadie said. "The main reason why we do this campaign once again is to give the children a framework of tackling problems that occur in their communities. So that when they leave here you know they will be able to know that first of all how do I even identify the problem? Who are the people? Who are the politicians that are already working on this issue?"

Students presented their work in the classroom and but also headed out to the community to hand out flyers on what they've learned.

"We are educating but we also want to do something about it. We want to bring that awareness you know to the public, and possibly that will contribute to ameliorating the situation that exists," Wadie.

Village Leadership Academy is holding a fundraiser Thursday to purchase water filters for all the students and their families.

For more information, visit www.vlacademy.org.