Walk for Water event raises awareness of international water shortage

How far would you walk for a glass of fresh water?

In many parts of the world, women and children walk for miles to access safe drinking water every day. On Sunday, March 27, a group of PSU students endured just that, as part of Portland’s Walk for Water event in recognition of the United Nations World Water Day.

Organized by Portland Global Initiative (PGI), a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about water issues, participants walked for three miles—the average distance that someone in sub-Saharan Africa walks every day—raising money and awareness about water shortages in these parts of the world.

PSU junior Lisa Meersman said she’s still sore from carrying a three-gallon water container as she walked from Tom McCall Waterfront Park to the east bank esplanade.

“At first it didn’t seem like a big deal, but it gets harder as I walk,” Meersman said. “[The experience] really helped me to be able to empathize with people who have to do that every day.”

According to Suzanne Strick, project manager for the event with Portland Global Initiative, the money raised from the event will go toward supporting the construction of water wells in Kenya and Malawi. Last year, the event raised $28,000 that went toward the construction of a well in Tanzania.

This year, more than 500 people participated, raising more than $30,000 for three schools in Africa.

Strick said PGI collaborated with international nonprofit organizations, including Water for All and U.S. AID, as well as local businesses and the PSU Capstone Program.

PSU students from the capstone course, “Marketing for Nonprofits,” helped promote the event and create information kiosks to educate participants of water issues around the world.

As part of the capstone course, business student Jeremy Mackay contacted several local businesses and even brought a speaker from Tanzania to speak at the event.

Mackay said the course provided him with a better understanding of how critical the issue of water-related illnesses is in underdeveloped countries. According to the UN, one in eight people in the world lacks access to safe water supplies.

At PSU, a student-led initiative called Take Back the Tap, part of a nationwide movement across campuses, was created two years ago with the mission of educating students and administrators about water-related issues.

Last year, Take Back the Tap secured funding from the Miller’s Foundation to install nine hydration stations on campus in an effort to encourage more students to drink tap water.

According to Jacob Sherman, a graduate student in leadership for sustainability education and a member of Take Back the Tap is currently pushing through a resolution with ASPSU to end the use of student fees to pay for bottled water at campus events.

Sherman said one of the reasons why some students still purchase bottled water is because they don’t realize the environmental and social impact of their dollar.

“Bad habits are hard to break, so we want to change the way people do things,” Sherman said. “People think that they’re buying something cleaner and safe, even though Dasani water is nothing but filtered tap water.”

According to Sherman, last year the group was allocated more than $38,000 from the student building fund committee to install an additional 14 hydration stations on campus. The new system will also allow users to drink directly from it, in addition to refilling their bottles. ?