MEEKER | “Six kilometers (3.7 miles) is the average distance someone has to walk to get clean water in many places in the developing world,” Meeker United Methodist Church Pastor David Petty told the Herald Times last year just before hosting its first World Vision Global 6K for Water event.
“For many of them, the water they get, even after walking that distance, is not guaranteed to be safe or free from disease,” Petty said.
The 6K walk/run gives participants an idea just how much time and effort people around the world have to put in every day to find clean water.
World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, provides long-term solutions to poverty, emergency humanitarian assistance and is an advocate for the poor worldwide. Proceeds from the $50 race registration fees go toward clean water projects around the world. World Vision is the largest nongovernmental provider of clean water in the developing world.
Each participant receives a medal and a T-shirt, and a race bib with a picture of a World Vision child who will benefit from the water projects. Participants can increase their support by asking for donations from sponsors. According to World Vision’s website, $50 provides one person with clean water for an entire year.
Everyone is welcome to participate. Kids’ registration is $25. It’s also possible to sponsor a participant (if you can’t walk or run that distance) or to be sponsored if you can’t afford the fee. Meeker is an official host site for the event once again, as well as a community team. Participants can sign up to be part of the Meeker team or sign up individually.Register online now (so you receive your race bib in time) at https://www.teamworldvision.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=9707.
The race starts at Sanderson Hills Park at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 19. Participants can walk or run, and there are no time limits. The distance is equivalent to 15 laps around a track, and includes trail and street terrain.
