Posted: Friday, April 27, 2012 4:50 pm

Becky Ginnever

From 5-12 May, CAFOD worker Becky will be walking 180 miles along the river Thames to raise awareness of the billion people around the world living without access to clean water.

Becky Ginnever, 27, from Gloucestershire, will be walking 180 miles in eight days - from the source of the Thames to CAFOD’s headquarters in London.

One in eight people around the world are currently living without access to clean water. The effects of dirty water and unsafe sanitation destroy poor communities, killing millions every year. In many cases it is women and girls who are responsible for collecting water for their families, spending up to eight hours of their day walking for water.

By walking the river Thames, Becky hopes to raise awareness of this injustice, and to call upon world leaders to meet the Millennium Development Goal to halve the number of people who do not have access to clean water and safe sanitation by 2015.

Becky said: “Turning the tap on for a glass of water is something we do without even thinking. I was shocked to learn that 50 litres of water is flushed down the toilet daily by the average person in the UK, whilst 10 litres of water is often all that people living in the poorest countries have to survive on each day

“For women and girls collecting water, often in the early hours or late at night, is dangerous. They are exposed to all manner of threat. They continue even if sick or heavily pregnant and can expect to queue for hours at a water source, or collect water from an unsafe source that harbours deadly diseases.

“Water is not a privilege, it’s a basic right, and by walking the Thames I hope to highlight this crisis. The work of CAFOD and other charities is making a difference, but world leaders are the ones who can make real and lasting change. This is why I am asking David Cameron to call on world leaders at the G8 summit in May to turn the tide on water poverty.”

Becky is one of thousands of CAFOD campaigners who are backing the ‘Thirst for change’ campaign by sending their own personal messages to the Prime Minister. CAFOD is calling on David Cameron to use the G8 summit in May as an opportunity to lead the way on ending water poverty once and for all.

 
To view the CAFOD ‘Thirst for Change’ film featuring TV and film star David Harewood MBE, Emmy-nominated for his role in US series Homeland, please visit http://www.youtube.com/cafodtv and for further information on the CAFOD ‘Thirst for Change’ campaign and how to support it, visit www.cafod.org.uk/thirst