Hamilton Kids Walk for Kids in Haiti
HAMILTON, ON – March 18, 2016 – More than 100 Hamilton children will tie up their laces, grab a pail and walk five kilometres to raise money so children in Haiti can have access to clean water and sanitation. They walk to bring awareness to the plight of children who walk hours each day for contaminated water.
Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, and is also home to the hemisphere’s highest rates of infant, under-five, and maternal mortality. Half of its population lives without access to clean water, and 80% of citizens have no access to sanitation facilities. Deadly cholera, spread through contaminated water, is an ongoing risk. And the children in Hamilton are doing something about this.
Hamilton’s Public Works Department invites all media and the community to the 12th Annual World Water Day Walkathon which raises funds for the Haiti Water for Life project. Since the City’s annual walkathon was initiated in 2005, it has raised $217,000 funding construction of 43 wells in rural Haiti. But the need continues so Hamilton children continue to walk.
“It warms my heart to see how these children care and understand how hard a life it is for the children of Haiti. And a single well can change a child’s world,” said Roy Sheldrick, Ancaster Rotarian and founder of the Haiti “Water for Life” Project.
“The lack of clean water and sanitation makes the people of Haiti, especially young children and the elderly, more vulnerable to cholera which can quickly become an epidemic,” commented Sheldrick.
Louis Martin, Executive Director of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, will travel to Hamilton and walk in support of this project that positively impacts so many lives.
The Haiti Water for Life initiative was created by Ancaster Rotarian Roy Sheldrick to build water wells in Haiti. Find out how much money was raised by Hamilton students, community members and staff this year at the cheque ceremony.
Event details
Following the completion of the five kilometre walk, proceeds will be presented to Ancaster Rotarian Roy Sheldrick for the Haiti Water for Life Project.
Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2016
- Registration opens at 9 am
- Walk kicks off at 10 am
- Cheque presentation begins at 11:30 am
Location: Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology, 900 Woodward Avenue, Hamilton
Photo opportunity: At the midway point (just south of Hutch’s), children fill their buckets. After walking five kilometres from the Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology to Confederation Park and back, the children empty their pails into a 1,000L container that shows the amount of water used, on average, by a family every day in Hamilton.
Who will be there?
- Dan McKinnon, Director of Hamilton Water
- Roy Sheldrick, Ancaster Rotarian, Founder of the Haiti “Water for Life” Project
- Louis Martin, Executive Director of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti
- More than 100 students from Hess Street, St. Gabriel and St. Eugene elementary schools
- City of Hamilton staff