552 801 083 STEPS!
Over 550 million. That’s how many steps you have registered during March for Water 2021. We had hoped for 65 million steps which you immediately crushed and then continued ten laps around the earth. You even reached the moon!
This fantastic result was made possible by all 5 000 of you that got involved, whether you walked by yourselves or with any of our partners WW Weight Watchers, Getinge, Fitvia, GANT and Pollex.
But the steps aren't everything. Through generous donations from supporters, WW Weight Watchers and the followers of the Instagram account Hemnetknarkarna, we raised more than 230 000 SEK. Donations that will make sure more people get access to clean water.
And above all else you have provided the world with hope.
Our Chief Executive Anna Nilsdotter explains:
A big thank you from all of us at WaterAid Sweden!
How does us walking help women and girls in vulnerable parts of the world?
When someone registers their steps, they help to draw attention to why lack of clean water affects girls and women the most.
Through the March for Water campaign, we raise awareness of the issue, and encourage people to get involved by spreading information and supporting our work through donations and fundraisers. With the help of this support, we can reach more people with clean water and contribute to a more equal world.
Several companies, organisations and schools also participate in the campaign and help us draw attention to the issue and contribute through fundraisers or donations so that we can reach more people with clean water.
Why we walk
“We no longer need to drink water from dirty waterholes now when we have clean water on tap.”
The quote is from 28-year-old Raoly from Tsarafangirta village in Madagascar a few months after the village got clean water with the help of WaterAid.
Before the village got clean water, Raoly and all the others fetched their drinking water from a dirty water source several kilometres away. Raoly had to walk the long stony paths three times a day to collect enough water for her family. Carrying 20 litres of water on her head. But with clean water, everything has changed.
“We can plant and grow more crops now when we have clean water so close, and we are not as tired anymore since we don’t have to fetch water. Life is easier with clean water on tap” explains Raoly.
Thank you for walking for clean water. Thank you for walking so that more women like Raoly will get further than to a dirty watering hole.
Our partners
We are proud that Weight Watchers has chosen to become a partner for March for Water 2021. The partnership means that they engage their members to walk for clean water. Getinge, Pollex, Fitvia and GANT have also chosen to support the fight for more women and girls to get clean water.
Does your company or association also want to get involved in March for Water?
Contact us on: [email protected]
How does WaterAid work to bring clean water to more women?
Since girls and women are often especially vulnerable to the consequences of the lack of clean water, toilets and hygiene, our work to increase access to these means that women’s lives and opportunities are improved. Our work often has a particular focus on toilets, water and hygiene in schools and hospitals, so that girls can be educated and women can give birth without the risk of dying from infections.
Furthermore, we actively work to strengthen women’s rights, by when working for example to drill wells and build toilets, also educate and mobilise women. Through women’s groups getting the responsibility to design, implement and maintain projects, their financial opportunities, independence and empowerment in the community increases. Our work to improve access to clean water and toilets also contributes to strengthening women’s autonomy and improving their prospects of leaving poverty behind.
About WaterAid
We are working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. We are an international not-for-profit organisationand we work in 34 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, we have reached more than 28 million people with clean water and more than 28 million people with decent toilets.
"In almost all crises and disasters, it is already vulnerable and discriminated people who are worst affected. This also applies to the water crisis. Forcing girls to walk for water instead of going to school affects their chances for the rest of their lives. The fact that women have to carry water instead of being able to work and earn their own income limits their lives. Clean water is a prerequisite for an equal world, and we hope that many will take that message and walk for clean water with us in March."
Anna Nilsdotter, CE WaterAid Sweden