Since Tuesday is #charitytuesday on twitter, we thought we’d do a weekly feature on one of our favorite water charities. Today we’ve picked one that’s not on our original water charity list: World Walks for Water. It’s a global event that takes place from March 19-22 of this year, that aims to raise awareness of the world’s clean water and sanitation crisis. Anyone may participate in this global demand for strong government action to stop the needless death of thousands every day.
I think of it as a peaceful protest for clean water.
Millions of women and children miss out on the chance to get an education due to the poverty that ensues from a lack of access to clean water. They must spend hours a day traveling to and fro to collect water for their families – water that is dirty and will likely make them sick – and even more hours a day caring for their sick loved ones. Though many water charities exist and are working to solve this crisis, corrupt politics can often ruin even the most sincere charitable efforts. World Walks for Water stands up to those politics, by demanding that these issues be ignored no longer.
Those of us who are more privileged take clean water for granted. What’s worse, rather than investing in technology that purifies water in safe, healthy ways, our governments use toxic chemicals to disinfect our water. (Fortunately, there are companies like Filters Fast that provide ways to filter them out.) World Walks for Water is a chance for all of us to stand up and demand that the world’s entire population, rich or poor, have access to safe water and sanitation. It’s an event that unites people from all walks of life.
You can join the online walk directly on the website. Online walkers are featured on the home page with cartoon characters holding water jugs and walking in a straight line. Each time your mouse rolls over a character, a quote, like “taps and toilets for all,” or “children at school, not walking for water” is displayed on his or her water jug. To join this colorful cast of characters, simply visit the website and fill out the form. Then, if you want to sign up to participate in a walk in your area, or even organize your own walk, you can do that from the website as well. We just joined the virtual walk and are pretty excited about it.
Join the walk for water, and tell your friends by retweeting this post!
