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# Groups take to streets for water
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/groups-take-to-streets-for-water/
- Published: 2008-03-22T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T18:56:01.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Pier, #archive-import

*By Daily Press Staff*

SM PIER For the second straight year, Santa Monica-based International Medical Corps has partnered with Starbucks and Ethos Water to host Walks for Water in commemoration of World Water Day this Saturday.

Inspired by the nearly five-mile journey made by women and children every day to find clean water, the events taking place in New York City and Santa Monica bring concerned organizations and individuals together to raise awareness and support for the more than 1 billion people worldwide who do not have access to safe drinking water.

Participants will walk for three miles, beginning at the Santa Monica Pier. Registration is at 8:15 a.m.

“We take things like clean water for granted,” said Stephanie Bowen, communications manager for the Corps. “We don’t have to worry about the spread of cholera or dying from diarrheal diseases and infections … You can’t be healthy if you don’t have clean water.”

Designated by the U.N. in 1992, World Water Day was created to draw international attention to one of the largest public health issues in the world today — the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation services. Approximately 20 percent of the global population does not have access to clean drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lack sanitation services. As a result, millions die each year, including almost 4,500 children every day as a result of waterborne illnesses.

In addition to its alarming impact on public health, the world water crisis also prevents many children from receiving an education because they must travel great distances to find water.

To participate in the World Water Day events scheduled go to www.worldwater-day.net. For those unable to attend an event, the website also offers the opportunity to become a virtual walker, with registered names placed in a symbolic water jug and carried by a local participant at one of the Walks for Water. The events will feature a variety of guest speakers, including actress and activist Melissa Fitzgerald, who will speak on behalf of International Medical Corps at the Santa Monica walk.

To further its mission to alleviate suffering and enhance public health across the globe, International Medical Corps incorporates water and sanitation into its community-based humanitarian efforts. Building off of its health care services and training programs, IMC makes clean water available to the world’s most water-stressed communities by constructing wells, providing separate water sources for livestock, installing irrigation systems, creating waste management systems, and teaching safe hygiene. Clean water is also a key component of its emergency response efforts, as IMC provides survivors of natural and man-made disasters with fresh water and water storage tanks.

By integrating clean water and sanitation into its overall health programs, International Medical Corps helps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like malaria, typhoid, and cholera so that a solid foundation for health and well-being can be not only established, but maintained among undeserved, devastated communities worldwide.

The Corps is in the second year of a water sanitation program in Samburu, Nigeria, one of the driest locations on the globe. So far the Corps has been able to train 84 people to establish and maintain clean water delivery systems and has trained 60 people in sanitation. The Corps is using a $1 million grant from the Starbucks Foundation to fund efforts in Nigeria.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 22, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032208.pdf?ref=smdp.com)