On the severity of water inequality and the Walk for Water initiative

By Jenny Jia

As our District Project, I was recently introduced to an organization called the Thirst Project. Curious as to why I had never heard of it before, I decided to dig deeper. And the facts were devastating.

The UN dictated that 50% of malnutrition is associated with unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. My privileged self believed something like water was available to everyone by now. Already alerted, I decided to read further.

I learned that on average, worldwide, women and children walk 3.75 miles just to fetch water for the day. And it wasn't always sanitary. Sometimes, water collected was just something to quench thirst for a few hours. But those few hours were 6 to 8 hours too long. 6 to 8 hours that could be spent in the classroom, receiving education, achieving literacy, studying areas of interest. Instead, these hours

of the day are used to find a basic human right that should be accessible to everyone.

I have always wondered why many diseases are first discovered in Africa. While reading into the issue, it was revealed that dirty water carries several autoimmune diseases that are even more severe than HIV and AIDS. Pervasive diseases can be minimized if clean water to drink was an everyday reality for all, and I

knew right away that this must be the next initiative Key Club Vancouver Westside must support. Then came the birth of Walk for Water.

A two-month-long remote initiative, members decide a charitable donation pledge per every kilometer walked throughout the summer. Members join an activity-recording app called Strava, where they will be able to share their experiences walking long distances at a time. At the end of August, we will reconvene and counts our totals, hopefully summating a donation that can provide clean water for those who need it direly.

If we achieve universal access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, we could reduce the global disease burden by 10%.

The current reality is devastating, but it does not have to stay that way. Please consider supporting the Thirst Project with us by resharing our Instagram post, following our journey, and making a donation today.