First of all, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who turned out for the 2012 Walk and Run for Water. We had almost 400 runners & walkers this year, and an astoundingly beautiful day. You helped us raise about $8000 at the event, and with some sponsor money left in the budget we were able to donate $10,000 to our partners at World Vision to be used for a water stewardship project in Rwanda. We’re still working closely with World Vision to determine exactly where the project will be installed, but as soon as we have that information we’ll be sure to pass it along.
With the Willamette River serving as a backdrop, Portland Global Initiatives, along with PSU’s Capstone Class on Millennium Development Goals, gathered Rose City residents at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for the fourth annual Walk for Water on Saturday March 24, 2012. Presented by Portland Roasting Coffee, this event draws attention to the plight of millions of people whose access to safe drinking water is severely limited, Walk for Water raises funds to benefit Portland Global Initiatives and World Vision, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean water to families in sub-Saharan Africa. Walker registration fees, combined with local sponsor donations, raise funds needed to build a series of water pumps in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Malawi where water is a vital element in the production of coffee, one of the area’s few commodities.
Check out this video from Walk for Water 2011 from David S. Mayne on Vimeo.
Part physical activity and part awareness-raising, Walk for Water, provides participants an opportunity to experience what millions of African women and children must do on a daily basis to secure water for drinking, eating and washing. To simulate the experience, Portland Global Initiatives invites walkers to fill a container with water and bring it along the 3-mile route along the Eastbank Esplanade flanking the Willamette River. Walkers efforts will be rewarded upon their return to OMSI, where they will be greeted with refreshments and, of course, coffee from Portland Roasting. Yum!
Please view our video on pumps that Water for All constructed in Kenya with proceeds from our inaugural event in 2009!
