250 Join 2nd Annual Water Walk for Women’s Rights

Event raised nearly $5,000 for clean water

Amizade Global Service-Learning and University of Pittsburgh’s STAND chapter hosted the 2nd Annual Water Walk for Women’s Rights in Pittsburgh on World Water Day, March 22nd, 2009. The walk was part of an effort to raise money to increase access to safe water in Tanzania as well as protect refugees in Sudan’s Darfur region. You can still help...donate here.

More than 250 people carried water buckets over a 1-2 mile route through Oakland in solidarity with African women and children. Proceeds will benefit rural Tanzanian organizations supporting sustainable water harvesting systems and women’s rights, as well as the Genocide Intervention Network that actively extends lives by protecting civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Amizade is a nonprofit organization that encourages intercultural exploration and understanding through community-driven volunteer and service-learning programs in 13 communities and ten countries. Since its inception in 1994, Amizade has helped over 4,000 volunteers ages 13 to 79 contribute over 140,000 hours of service. In Tanzania, Amizade has installed water harvesting systems in cooperation with families and community organizations, extending lives through ensuring availability of one of the most basic resources, water.

The STAND chapter of the University of Pittsburgh, part of the Genocide Intervention Network, raises money to purchase firewood and provide water for refugees in Darfur. The firewood allows refugees to avoid leaving the protected areas of the camps to find wood for cooking and boiling water, lowering the incidence of rape and other violence.