BABATI, TANZANIA

To help raise awareness of their mission and in conjunction with World Water Day 2010, PCI and Nika Water sponsored the Water Walk in March, 2010 at De Anza Cove in Mission Bay, San Diego, California.  Inspired by the journey women and children in water-stressed countries make each day to obtain clean water for their families, past walks have helped raise awareness of the global water crisis issues among the general public.  PCI has sponsored the event in the three major cities and participated in the rallies preceding the walks, reaching thousands of event participants with an important message: millions of people currently have no access to clean water or sanitation services and we must actively address this crisis now.

Babati, Tanzania, a nation of more than 41 million people in central East Africa. In northern Tanzania's Manyara region, the majority of communities have little or no access to clean water and adequate sanitation, resulting in life-threatening illnesses. In addition, many parts of the region have been impacted by drought over the past five to ten years, creatinv an unreliable water supply that affects both human and cattle populations. Women and children often have to travel up to six hours a day in search of clean water. These long travel times and distances hinger the ability for these people to attend school or participate in other economically vital and productive activities in their communities; not to mention the fact that these long distance trips away from their homes can expose them to sexual assault and rape. Nika Water and PCI are engaged in providing 60 new water points, constructing school latrines and providing education aimed at hygiene, health, clean water and more. Nika has invested $20,000 into this project and it will directly impact more than 1,050 people.

The money collected by PCI and Nika Water at the event was used to build water systems in the countries in which they operate.  The site for this year's earnings was chosen to be Babati Tanzania.