Press release: 15 February 2010

Walking through the Karoo to raise water awareness

On 24 February 2010, husband and wife team Gerry and Wouna le Roux will embark on Walking for Water, a 3-week endurance walk in excess of 800km from the Eastern Cape Coast to the West Coast of South Africa, in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of water as a limited natural resource in the country.

The walk will start in Jeffreys Bay, south of Port Elizabeth, follow the R62 route through the Klein Karoo, and is anticipated to finish in Yzerfontein on the West Coast on 18 March. As such, it passes through areas suffering the worst droughts in at least 50 years.

“By doing this walk, we hope to do our bit to raise awareness of the critical importance of water in South Africa”, says Gerry le Roux. “We are not a water rich country, and we need to treat our limited water supply with respect. Given the current situation in the region, the importance of limiting water wastage goes without saying, but even in areas not suffering water shortages, more care needs to be taken by individuals and industry not to add to the already dangerously high levels of water pollution in the country.”

“We have not teamed up with a specific charity or aid organisation for this event, hoping rather to just create some exposure for grassroots level initiatives relating to water supply and water saving. We invite people to share and communicate information on such initiatives”, le Roux says.

The team have set up a blog (http://walkingforwater.blogspot.com) for the Walking for Water endurance walk, where anyone can comment and contribute, or just follow their daily progress. Alternatively, interested individuals are also encouraged to join their Facebook group “Walking for Water” (http://www.facebook.com), for discussions and regular progress updates. A detailed itinerary of the walk will also be made available through these sources.

“We have received wonderful support from the community so far, including free accommodation from establishments along the route as listed on our blog, for which we are most grateful.”

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Issued by:
Gerry le Roux – Walking for Water
Tel 082-499-1555; email gerry.leroux@gmail.com