Dozens take steps to help needy overseas
Proper footwear was vital Sunday during a fundraising walk in Kelowna that stretched exactly 10,000 steps.
Heavy snow flurries and cold temperatures greeted the 85 people who turned out for the second annual Okanagan CARE Canada Walk in Her Shoes in Mission Creek Regional Park.
“It wasn’t the kind of weather most of us were expecting,” Wendy Wright, one of the organizers, said. “Winter boots and warm clothing would have been a good idea.”
The idea of the fundraising event, which attracted more than twice as many people as last year, was to have people walk as far as many women and children do every day in the developing world.
“Ten thousand steps, between six and seven kilometres, that’s how far they have to walk to get some of the basic necessities of life, like water and firewood,” Wright said.
Through registration fees and donations, more than $6,000 was raised. The money will be used to support CARE Canada projects overseas, for such things as digging wells, building schools and providing startup loans for small businesses.
The walk is connected with International Women’s Day, which is Tuesday.
The second annual Walk in Her Shoes challenge was presented by Okanagan CARE Canada Sunday at Mission Creek Regional Park in Kelowna. The fundraiser attracted 85 people, who raised more than $6,000. Each participant walked 10,000 steps, or about 6.5 kilometres, which women and girls in developing countries walk every day to collect the basics for their families, such as food, water and firewood. Daily Courier photographer Gary Nylander dropped by the event and took these photos.