Walk for Water holds fifth annual walk

By Emily Petillon
Managing Editor

The Samburu Project held its fifth annual Walk for Water on March 30 on the Hermosa Beach strand to raise money for its charity.

The Samburu Project is a non-profit organization that works to provide easy access to clean, safe drinking water to communities throughout the Samburu District of Kenya. The walk raised money to pay for the transportation of materials and labor in order to drill for the wells.

“The lack of clean, safe drinking water affects every aspect of people’s daily lives, including health, education, economics and family dynamic,” Samburu Club President junior Natasha Brunstein said. “Samburu women walk miles every day looking for water. The Samburu project works to fix these problems.”

The four-mile walk started at the American Junkie restaurant in Hermosa and looped between the Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach Pier. About 200 people attended the event, and it ended with a celebratory pancake breakfast for all of the walkers at American Junkie.

“The Walk for Water was a great showcase for the philanthropic spirit that Mira Costa students have,” senior Joe Marine said. “It shows that we can do more than just write a check to help support a meaningful cause.”

The Mira Costa Samburu Club helped to organize and promote signing up for the race and created a Mira Costa Model United Nations team to walk in the race. Costa MUN offered extra credit to students who participated in the walk.

“It was really great to see the amount of Costa students who signed up for the walk,” Brunstein said. “Every person who donates money and shows their support is standing up for a cause that can help people who are struggling to survive every day in Northern Kenya.”