Speaking to hundreds of students from Olds High School, Ecole Olds Elementary School and Ecole Deer Meadow School on May 13, Spencer West imparted to students the importance of education and the seriousness of water issues in the developing world.
West, who was born in Toronto and lost his legs at age five due to a genetic disorder, was in Olds as part of a walking and wheeling journey called Walk 4 Water from Edmonton to Calgary to raise awareness of the issues many women and girls face as a result of not having access to clean water.
He is being joined on his 300-kilometre journey by friends David Johnson and Alex Meers.
“We're just a little over half (way to Calgary), but the bodies are still sore. I feel like we're slowing down a little bit, but we're pushing through it for sure,” he said.
“We're walking between Edmonton and Calgary to not only raise awareness about how far women and girls in general have to walk to collect water, but also we're hoping to raise funds towards Free the Children's clean water initiative this year, which is to bring clean water to 100,000 people for life,” he said.
West said because women and girls have to collect water two or three times per day, sometimes as far as two or three hours away from where they live, they are not able to work or go to school.
“On top of that, the water that they're collecting is dirty,” he said, adding dirty water leads to many water-borne diseases.
If women and girls were not spending as much time collecting water, they could be supporting their families or going to school, West said.
“Water is literally the key to everything, to education and to livelihood for families,” he said.
West became involved in global issues after going on a trip to Kenya in 2008 to help build a school.
“It was a life-changing experience. I saw the work of Free the Children, how they were breaking the cycle of poverty through their development model,” he said, adding that after speaking to children there, West realized how he could use his experience of losing his legs as a catalyst for inspiring others and partner with Free the Children.
Last year, West, Johnson and Meers climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, in the process raising more than $500,000 for clean-water projects in communities affected by drought in Kenya.
By stopping at schools along the way, the Walk 4 Water is also designed to encourage students and teachers to organize their own fundraising initiatives. The walk started May 6 in Edmonton and is due to wrap up in Calgary on May 16.
