Wai Walk for Niger?

The Start Line of the 2km

Wow - what a turnout! About 80 people participated, and a good 60% of those were families. Familes from WonderMums, along with those from Kiddy Winks, MBC and our community all got together and walked 2km carrying their water (wai is Maori for water ie, 'Water' walk for Niger).  Others walked 5km and some even 11km.

Walkers, then a picnic finish!

Why did we do this?  In Niger, people are dying. Far too many people. And simply because they don't have water. Parents carry grief for children who died way before their time. It really is heartrending.

We feel truly lucky that we 'happened' to be born in a country with loads of fresh water. We want our children to realise this is a huge privilege not shared by everyone around the globe. So this was a chance for our kids to get actively involved in 'doing' something that will help these families in Niger. 

I am so proud of all the kids who did this walk today. They were excited to be doing something as a group, and the older ones were really proud to be doing something to help kids who have no clean water to drink.

So far $50 sponsorship has been given by WonderMums!  Awesome stuff!  We are really hoping that as a group we would be able to donate $100 towards this awesome cause. We still have till the 7th of Oct to collect sponsorship/donation. 

Very excited kids!

World Vision is running the Maradi Community Vegetable Gardening Project in Niger. The direct beneficiaries are 560 women and men farmers. In total though, this will benefit 4200 people, 1,470 of which are just children.  Amazing isn't it!  Did you know that 50% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water, with 44% of children under-5 years being underweight? Those are scary percentages...

One of the main reasons for this project is this:  "Producing horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables for cash and food, other than their staple grains, should become a more sustainable mechanism to reduce dependency on continuous food aid distribution when available water is appropriately managed and used.  Shifting the situation from perennial food insecure communities into producers of food that will relieve malnutrition levels and provide available cash to households to access other basic needs has potential in Niger."

The picture on the left is the project area in Maradi.  The picture on the right is an example of what this will look like upon completion. This is another project World Vision has finished in Mali.