Although I don’t work for CARE Australia any more that doesn’t mean I don’t care about women, girls and their communities overseas.

Each year there are hundreds of fundraising challenges that I could support, but none mean as much to me as Walk in Her Shoes. Why? Because in my time at CARE I was privileged to meet many women and girls whose lives had drastically improved with CARE’s expertise and support. I met women who before CARE’s help woke well before dawn and walked for hours to collect dirty water and food for their families, or girls who had missed out on school because they were stuck waiting in line to pump water from a faraway well.

A girl collecting water from a polluted pond in Ethiopia

Their stories and the lasting impact CARE’s work had on them and their families will never leave me. Now these women and girls have wells pumping clean water close to their homes, they have vegetables and fruit year-round because of gardens CARE helped them plant and maintain, and they are attending school or earning money instead of walking for the basics.

That’s why for the fourth year in a row I am taking on the Walk in Her Shoes challenge from 8 to 14 March 2016! This week I will be running 50km – around 7.5km each day. The money raised by my wonderful supporters will help CARE provide water, food and firewood close to home so that girls have more time for school, women can earn an income and together they can help their communities step out of poverty.

I met Fikere from Ethiopia in 2014. She used to walk for hours to collect water for her family until CARE built a water pump close to her home. Now her family enjoys clean water and Fikere can attend school instead of walking for water.

Sponsor my challenge by donating via my fundraising page. Thanks for your support!