Supporting Our Global Community: 2019 Run for Water
Last Sunday, OT Works! therapists and their families ran in support of Bekkye and other communities in Ethiopia. The 2019 Run for Water at Mill Lake Park (Abbotsford) raises funds for clean drinking water projects in these rural areas.
OT Works! Involvement
While our OTs work locally, we also want to have a global effect. As healthcare providers, OT Works! recognizes the impact one’s environment can have on well-being. By improving access to clean water, a community can transform. We are thrilled to have fund-raised and contributed over $2,226 to clean drinking water in Bekyye, Ethiopia.
About Bekyye
Bekyye currently has no access to clean water. Girls and women journey for hours every day to fetch water from rivers and ponds for cooking, cleaning, drinking and animal care. With the funds raised last weekend, as well as funds mobilized by the community of Bekyye itself (who are raising 10% of the project cost), access to safe, clean, and local drinking water can become a reality. The project aims to enable:
- Children to attend school
- Mothers to start businesses
- Fathers to water their crops
- Reduction in the transmission of waterborne diseases
Meet Kibra
Kibra is the youngest of 10 children and besides having to walk for two hours every day to fetch water for her family, she was travelling on foot for another two hours a day just to get to her elementary school. Five years ago, Run for Water began a sponsorship program in the communities where they bring clean water; this sponsorship provides a scholarship for girls to go to high school and university. Kibra was one of those recipients. Her story is an incredible example of what a small investment can do to change an entire community. Watch her story here:
Learn more and donate at Runforwater.ca.