Where will you be on 4/18/10?

Oct 19th, 2009 2:46 PM UTC
By ONE Partners

As we reported earlier, our friends at the Global Water Challenge made news last week when they announced the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, which promises to be the largest event ever of its kind. Sweta Daga gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the announcement and more details about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water:

On Tuesday, October 13th, I had to get up at 5:15 a.m. To be clear, that’s not my normal wake-up time. It’s more my idea of slow torture. But that morning something important was happening. The organization I work for, Global Water Challenge, was going to be announcing its partnership with Live Earth and Dow to combat the drinking water crisis. I was excited because the Dow Live Earth Run for Water benefiting Global Water Challenge will be the largest event ever of its kind — on the scale needed to deal with the crisis. On April 18th, 2010, thousands of people around the world will participate in 6 km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water), followed by featuring concerts and water education activities.

I wasn’t the only one up early on Tuesday — the students at Mott Hall Science and Technology Academy were also making their way over to The Early Show to represent kids all over the world. The students have committed to participate in the global event on April 18th and were helping us tell the world about the event by appearing on The Early Show. It was cold, but the kids from Mott Hall realized that there were kids like them all over the world who didn’t have water in their schools. In fact, half of the world’s schools lack access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation.

The official press conference was later that day at the Chelsea Piers in New York. GWC President Paul Faeth was joined on stage by Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz and others to talk about how important the drinking water issue is around the world. In this day and age, there are still close to a billion people who lack access to clean water. Our hope is that the Dow Live Earth Run for Water will create a tipping point in the water crisis.

Funds raised in the U.S. will go to water and sanitation projects around the world that GWC is supporting. Every person who runs/walk on April 18th is not only helping by providing funding for these projects, but also by showing their commitment to the issue, and bring this issue to the forefront of people’s minds.

TAGS: From Our Partners, Global Water Challenge, ONE, Water and Sanitation