The glorious spring sun shone down on Gougane Barra Forest Park on the day Green-Schools Ireland, in cooperation with Irish Aid and Coillte, organised a ‘Walking for Water’ event at the source of the River Lee. One hundred children and their teachers from 9 different Green-Schools in Co. Cork, walked 3 kilometres with 3 litres of water in a backpack to raise awareness about water scarcity in developing countries.   To read the whole story, courtesy of Brigit O’Driscoll of An Taisce, click here!

What a day! 

No question about it – kid power was our secret weapon to draw attention to the Walking for Water Campaign, bringing smiles to the faces of the attendees from around the world who came to The Hague for UN World Water Day on March 22nd.
There were about 50 kids present at the event, Dutch kids and also kids of other nationalities who attend the British International School in Amsterdam.  Our kid ambassadors had a great time interviewing people who stepped on the treadmill with a backpack and answered questions like, “What is your role and contribution toward solving the world’s water problems?” Check out the pics!

Our film crew quickly pulled together elements of the interviews from the day itself into a short film. We’ve put it together with the ‘Take the Walk!’ promotional film that premiered on World Water Day. Have a look!

The testimonials we’ve received from schools outside of the Netherlands will come online soon. Approximately 34.000 children from around 600 schools in the following countries walked for Water this year: Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Columbia, England, Hungary, Ireland, India, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Montenegro, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Uruguay, United States, and Wales.

We’re so very proud of all the kids who learned about and walked for water. An estimated €1.3m has been raised for 26 different water and sanitation projects in Africa and Asia. You didn’t just talk the talk, you took the WALK! Well done!

Friday, 22 March is the big day for Walking for Water!  The organisers of the big UN World Water Day event in  the Hague, Netherlands are so enthusiastic about the ‘kid power’ behind the campaign that they decided to make Walking for Water the ‘grand finale’ of the last big meeting on Friday afternoon.  All the leaders and special guests from around the world will be present and listening to us, or actually TO YOU!  We will even be on TV!  And of course you know what the kids will tell them…TAKE THE WALK!

Here’s what’s going to happen on Friday afternoon, 22 March, at the World Forum:

Kids in the spotlight for Walking for Water – UN World Water Day

Just Water

When eleven year old Job La Brie asked his parents, “Why is my school participating in the Walking for Water Campaign?  What’s the big deal?”  His parents decided to let him see the answer with his own eyes!

In December 2011, the whole family flew from Holland to a remote village in Bangladesh that did not have direct access to safe drinking water.  Job and his little brother Mick learned about what life can be like for kids who have to walk long distances every day to collect clean water.  Not only that, they also saw what can be done about it!

Their adventures, told by Job (Jacob in English), are captured in four short films called “Just Water.” The films have English subtitles, and we will have a version with English voice over in the near future.

Check the films out and enjoy!

Registrations for Walking for Water 2013 have really taken off!  As of mid-February the campaign has around 6000 students from over 80 schools around the world who have decided to Take the walk!  From Columbia to Pakistan, from Ireland to Kenya, kids are getting ready to take action to raise awareness that not everyone has safe drinking water – and they should!  Together with the 27.000 participating students in the Netherlands we can proudly say that we  are really growing into a global campaign!

“Our school is situated in an indigenous community on the mouth of a river, near the coast in the Northern Territory of Australia.  Many people in Maningrida call themselves ‘saltwater people’, and as such water holds much significance to my students. We are undertaking an integrated unit on Water this term, reading a book about another indigenous community to whom water holds great signficance, learning about the history of water technologies, and studying the importance of safe water and the ongoing challenge this is for people around the world. One thing Maningrida does enjoy is clean, healthy water. We decided to participate to stand in solidarity with the people we are learning about this term who are not so fortunate, and turn our learning into a practical action.”

The introduction presentation of the Walking for Water Campaign is now available in Spanish.

We’re proud to announce that 70 enthusiastic students from the SEK Budapest International School will be walking for water this March just a couple days before UN World Water Day on March 22nd.  They’ve chosen to walk for the Rwenzori Integrated School WASH Project in Uganda.  Schools will be supplied with WASH facilities (Rainwater Harvesting Tanks, Ecosan Latrines and Handwashing facilities), and surrounding communities will be assisted with household latrine construction, hygiene and health education and promotion.

Walking for Water welcomes it's first school in Luxembourg!

Whether it’s just over the border from our headquarters in the Netherlands, or thousands of miles away, our team always finds it really exciting when the Walking for Water Campaign adds a school from a new country to our growing campaign.  We’re pleased to welcome the kids of  St. George’s International School in Luxembourg, who will walk up and down the hilly terrain around Luxembourg City in March to raise funds for the Busia Community Water Project in Western Kenya.

Welcome on board St George’s!  Get your walking shoes on!