Walk for Africa symbolic of struggles facing drought-stricken mothers
On Sept. 2, University of Toronto Mississauga graduate student and mother of three, Viara Mileva will walk from the University of Toronto Mississauga to the University of Toronto's St. George campus. This journey -over 30 kilometres-will raise money for UNICEF's emergency fund to help drought-stricken migrants across Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, the region known as the horn of Africa.
As a mother, I can't help but imagine how difficult it must be for mothers in Africa, says Mileva. They walk for days with their children to get to aid camps. They walk through drought, without food, without water, carrying a heavy burden. They don't know if they'll make it to the camps and they don't know what they'll find when they get there, but they walk because it's the only chance they have.
Mileva will walk with her six-month-old son, Raynor, in a sling to parallel the thousands of mothers walking every day in Africa. She wants this to be symbolic of the struggles that the mothers in the horn of Africa face - although she notes that she will have advantages they do not have-a full breakfast, as well as access to food, water and shelter along the way.
Since Mileva announced her initiative, promoting and fundraising through social media sites, the UNICEF fundraising page and door-to-door canvassing, she's raised over $3,300, exceeding her original goal of $2,000 and getting closer to her new goal of $4,000. She has also recruited more than 15 other walkers, and she's inviting others to collect pledges and join the walk, as well. If we reach our goal before the walk, we'll up it to $5,000, she says. The Canadian government will match every dollar raised before Sept. 16, so it could to amount to $10,000.
The situation in drought-ravaged Africa is dire, explains Pauline Pan, a U of T Mississauga alumni, employee and soon to be graduate student who is walking with Mileva and helping her fundraise as well. 12.4 million people face starvation and of those 2.5 million are children under the age of five, she says.
Pan is urging the University of Toronto Mississauga community to help by doing whatever they can, whether it is by donating, advertising, or joining the walk. As Pan canvasses on campus, in local Mississauga shops and the Square One Farmers Market, she says she's been met with good support and hopes to see it continue in the days leading up to the walk.
Mileva, Pan and the other walkers will be setting out from the University of Toronto Mississauga's William G. Davis Building at 9 a.m. They expect the walk will take about 9 hours along major urban streets including Dundas Street, The Queensway, Lakeshore Boulevard and Queen Street West, with rest stops and fundraising along the way.
For more information, visit www.naivejar.org where you'll also find links to the Walk for Africa facebook page to join and the UNICEF page to donate.