Take 10,000 steps a day to help children who trek for water
How many steps do you walk in a week? You probably haven’t thought about it – but for millions of girls and women in the developing world, walking is a gruelling necessity.
They must walk miles each day to collect water for their families, which means they often don’t have enough time left to go to school or work.
A campaign called Walk In Her Shoes is asking people in the UK, Canada and Australia to walk 10,000 steps a day – that’s about five miles – for one week in March to mark International Women’s Day on the 8th.
The fundraising initiative is run by CARE International, which is building safe water sources close to families so that children have time to go to school.
One of those children is seven-year-old Eliza, who lives in South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
She walks for miles up to three times a day to collect water for her family in an area where people have been attacked by lions and snakes. The water is filled with parasites but her family have no alternative.
You can learn more about Eliza’s story by watching the CARE video above.
Walk In Her Shoes 2014 will begin on International Womens’ Day with a walk through London led by Dr Helen Pankhurst and the Olympic Suffragettes.
CARE is asking people to walk 10,000 steps per day for a week in March. It could start on the 8th, coincide with World Water Day on March 22 or be any other week during that month.
Linda Barker, the well-known British TV presenter and designer, is a supporter of Walk In Her Shoes. She said: “CARE is freeing women and girls from the burden of collecting water by repairing and building wells and taps close to their homes, allowing them time to go to school or work.”