5K walk to raise funds for clean water initiatives

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Registration is open for Walk for Water Kalamazoo 5K at Western Michigan University Saturday, April 8. The event at 1 p.m. by the fountains by Miller Auditorium aims to increase awareness of the worldwide lack of access to clean water and to raise funds to help Clean Water for the World in its efforts to provide water purification units to communities in developing countries without potable water.

Sponsored by WMU’s Nonprofit Leadership Student Association, Alpha Lambda Delta and Kappa Phi Christian Women's Club as well as  St. Thomas More Catholic Student Parish, registration and donations can be made prior to the event online at  firstgiving.com/cw4w/walk-for-water-kalamazoo-2017. The pre-registration fee is $10 for students and $15 for non-students. Registration fees on the day of the event are $13 for students and $18 for non-students.

Walkers are encouraged to carry water jugs to simulate the work women and children do in developing countries by carrying water from streams and ponds to their homes for use in cooking, drinking and bathing. Water jugs will be provided. A water carrying competition will take place during the walk.

The World Health Organization estimates that 4,400 children die each day from diarrheal diseases including cholera. For children under age five, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death.

Clean Water for the World, a nonprofit organization, provides families in 17 countries including India, Haiti, Kenya, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras with clean water by building and distributing water purification units to communities without access to potable water. The purification unit is designed to purify the water for a village of 300 families and with proper installation and use significantly lowers the reported intestinal illnesses.

For more information about the walk, contact Racquel Harrouk at racquel.a.harrouk@wmich.edu  or visit facebook.com/walkforwaterkalamazoo.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.