4th Annual Water Walk

April 9th and 10th, 2011 will mark Amizade’s 4th Annual Water Walk, an event that raises awareness about global water issues and raises funds to help support Amizade’s clean water initiatives in Karagwe, Tanzania. Over the past 3 years Amizade has hosted the annual event in both Pittsburgh, PA and Morgantown, WV with over a thousand students and community members walking the 1.5 mile route carrying a water bucket, walking in solidarity with the 1.1 billion people around the world who do not have access to safe water.

Thanks to the efforts of past water walkers as well as the generous support of the AllPeopleBeHappy Foundation, in the past year alone, Amizade was able to achieve the following:

• Bring clean water to over 300 schoolchildren in the area of rural Karagwe,Tanzania;
• Install a massive 300,000 liter water-harvesting system, including gutters, underground piping, and a solar-powered pump for a new school in the small village of Chonyoyo, read more here;
• Complete full evaluations on the water-harvesting systems that Amizade already helped to install for 8 families that have survived gender-based human rights abuses;
• Install 5 other rain-water harvesting tanks for families in the region;
• Lead workshops on the benefits of Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) – a method to produce suitable drinking water utilizing solar rays from the sun – to several groups of community members;
• Install ‘tip-tap’ hand washing devices (a mechanism designed to encourage hand-washing while conserving water) at recipients’ homes using simple, local materials, assembling the contraptions on-site by way of demonstrating a simple technology that families can share with their neighbors in order to increase awareness about the importance of hygiene and sanitation.

For more information about the event, global water issues, and Amizade’s water initiatives please visit the 4th Annual Water Walk page.

To register to participate in the 4th Annual Water Walk click here.