A little walking Saturday might be the first step toward ending global poverty.
The annual partnership walk, sponsored by the Aga Khan Foundation, is continuing its efforts to raise awareness about global poverty through education and the "trickle-down effect," Saleena Meghani, media coordinator for Aga Khan, said.
"When we participate we are not only building a better and safer world for people in Asia and Africa, but for ourselves as well," Meghani said. "As Americans, it is in our best interest to do something about poverty."
All money raised will go to funding poverty-stricken countries, such as Afghanistan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan, she said.
The program Milk and Hope provides daily rations of milk to 79,000 children in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Meghani said.
The walk is mainly to raise awareness of the crisis, as the organization gets most proceeds from donations, she said.
Along with Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles are involved in the walk and movement.
The 2.4-mile walk will also have three educational stops along the way – Asia, Africa and the United States. They will represent the major continents involved with AKF, she said.
The stops, called Village in Action, will have information about each continent, interactive games and skits to help walkers understand how large the problem is, Meghani said.
Accounting junior Shairoz Haiderali is volunteering because of her Pakistani heritage.
"We, especially Americans, need to participate in this because we have the resources," Haiderali said. "We have the knowledge in everything where we can actually provide help to these developing countries. In the end they are just learning the facts and what not, but it’s a different approach to getting the message across."
The registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at 1100 Bagby St.
For more information or to donate, visit www.akdn.org.
