A SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who contributed towards my fundraiser for Restless Development.

WE’VE MET OUR £1000 TARGET! AND PROVED THAT TOGETHER ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN MAKE AN EXTRAORDINARY DIFFERENCE TO THE LIVES OF THE WORLD’S POOREST.

THANKS & PLEASE feel free to continue donating.

 

 

 

 

"Each of us has it within ourselves to make a real difference to the world we live in." Usaama

 

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DAY BY DAY UPDATES ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE - PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT.

 

AND MORE PICTURES ARE ON MY FACEBOOK - YOU CAN CHECK THEM OUT EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT ON MY FRIENDLIST BECAUSE MY PICTURES ARE OPEN TO ALL.

 

I thank you all for your kind donations towards Restless Development and for your interest in my campaign to help improve the lives of the world’s poorest people – I believe that TOGETHER we can make a DIFFERENCE to the world we live in.

 

I am asking you to BELIEVE, not just in my ability to bring about real change in the world, I’m asking you to believe in yours.

 

  

MY STORY:

 

I’m doing the 8KM Walk for Water to raise awareness of a major international development issue (water scarcity) whilst also raising money for RESTLESS DEVELOPMENT, a leading Youth-Led Development Agency whose mission is to place young people at the forefront of change and development.

 

I will be volunteering with Restless Development this MAY in SOUTH AFRICA (East London, Eastern Cape) for 3 months as part of the government scheme: INTERNATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE (ICS). We will train, educate, support and inspire young people to lead development in their own countries and communities.

  

( My personal story - I joined Restless Development (ICS) for many reasons, and one of them is because I was born in one of the world’s poorest countries Uganda (nicknamed the pearl of Africa by Winston Churchill) and moved to Great Britain when I was six years old. Since then I’ve visited Uganda several times and on each occasion I’m always confronted with young people living in absolute poverty. And so I joined Restless Development in order to understand why such poverty persists in large parts of the world, and because I wanted to be a part of development projects that will make a real difference to the lives of young people who were born into the same circumstances I was born in. I also joined Restless Development because I believe that no matter who we are or where we come from, we are all connected as one people - that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper - and we have an obligation to care for one another as we would care for our own.)

 

I’m choosing to highlight the scarcity of clean water in developing countries because nearly a BILLION (884 MILLION) people worldwide have limited access to clean water, and this crisis disproportionately affects WOMEN AND GIRLS who in many developing countries are expected to supply water while men tend to do other chores – this chore KEEPS GIRLS OUT OF SCHOOL and women from more productive economic activities.

 

Another reason I’m going to do an 8KM Walk for Water is because the EASTERN CAPE region of South Africa where I will be volunteering suffers from severe environmental problems, including poor sanitation due to the LACK OF RUNNING WATER OR UNRELIABLE SUPPLY OF WATER, AND PLUS DROUGHTS. SO this would be a great opportunity for me to raise awareness in my local community (Croydon) of the problems I will confront whilst in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Also as a Restless Development (ICS) volunteer in South Africa, I will be expected to wake up early to collect clean water so this is pretty good practice.

 

 

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THE 8KM WALK FOR WATER (My Sponsored Walk): 

  

 

“On average, women in developing countries walk 6 kilometers (3.5 miles) a day to collect clean water because there is not enough of it nearby. The water collected from far-away locations is commonly carried in large containers called jerry cans. When filled, the cans weigh a hefty 55 pounds. They often put it on their shoulder and carry it above their head.”

 

I have WALKED 5.3 MILES (8KM) WHILE CARRYING A 10 LITRE JERRY CAN FILLED WITH CLEAN WATER, EVERY MORNING FOR A FULL WEEK (7 DAYS).  FROM Croydon High Street TO Coulsdon Sixth Form College (5.3 Miles = 8KM)

 

I did it from Tuesday28 February – Monday 5th March 2012 

    

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DONATIONS (SPONSORSHIP)

 

You can make DONATIONS (Sponsor me for my 8KM Walk for Water) online via my JustGiving page - www.justgiving.com/usaama-kaweesa 

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the Restless Development charity. Plus you can claim Gift Aid SO please dig deep and donate now.

 

HOW FAR YOUR MONEY GOES:

 

£10 – Provides a platform for a young person to speak out to their community about HIV/AIDS and development.

 

£50 – allows us to provide essential health education to 5 young people on a weekly basis for a year.

 

£80 – provides seed funding for a group of young people to establish their own income generating project.

 

£120 – funds 3 young people to attend a regional conference to advocate on issues affecting them and their peers.

 

£500 – trains 10 rural community leaders, health workers, police or teachers to deliver youth friendly services.

 

PLEASE PLEAse Please dig deep and donate now.

 

IMPORTANT INFO: Please note that any money raised by me will provide vital support to Restless Development in our work globally. It may not go directly to the Country Programme that I will be working on (South Africa) and may not go directly to ICS programmes. Your money could, for example, be used in any of our Country Programmes to train a volunteer to promote livelihoods, sexual health and leadership, reaching out to over 500 people.

  

 

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Water Facts:

 

·884 Million (nearly a Billion) people lack access to clean water supplies (that’s almost 3x the USA’s population)

 

·3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

 

·The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

 

·A Brit taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in a developing country slum uses in a whole day.

 

·People in the developing world walk an average of 3.5 miles for clean water.

 

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DAY 6:
I have just completed Day 6 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). Today was a GREAT DAY, but also a very challenging day.

Like yesterday, it was raining again. But today it was even more intense with harsh winds blowing in all directions. I was so cold I couldn't stop shaking throughout the journey. On top of all that my outfit was wet lol and my flipflops kept slipping off my feet, especially when I was crossing roads which was quite scary.

However apart from the weather, todays walk was great. It started off with a chat with a man I met on the Tram stop going into Croydon. We talked about water scarcity and Restless Development, and he also told me that he thought kids living in developing countries worked harder than our young people, which I thought was an interesting assessment.

When I got into Croydon I met my friend Victoria from Coulsdon College, who had agreed to walk the entire route with me (bless her) - she provided me with umbrella coverage and was my offical photographer for the day.

When we reached South Croydon Bus Garage I met another dedicated supporter: A Woman and her Husband,who have not just supported me and this noble cause but they have also sustained me, and championed the cause as much as I have. Many thanks to Tonie and Clive. By the way Clive walked from the Bus Garage to Tesco with me where we had an opportunity to discuss development and other geo-political affairs.

From Tesco, me and Vicky carried on. We later bumped into a woman in Coulsdon (on Mead Way - the long hill) who told us she'd read the article and wanted to sponsor me.

When we reached Coulsdon College, Vicky took a quick picture of me making my 'Toast to clean water' and then we headed home because we were so tired, the weather took a lot out of us. As we got on the bus, the driver stopped me to ask what I was raising money for and I told him. He was so interested that he even told me about an episode of Dragon's Den where a group of University students came up with a water-purifier machine. I thought to myself what a superb solution to dirty drinking water.

Today was full of surprises, and although it wasn't a SUN-day I still enjoyed it. Sparking the interests of others is an amazing thing to accomplish.

I'm gonna miss these walks.
 

 

 

DAY 5:
I have just completed Day 5 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). DAY 5 was an ok day (BUT certainly not my favourite day).

Firstly because it was raining and so everywhere was wet and slippery (I couldn't tell you how many times I almost slipped with my water bottle lol), and plus it was very cold. It wasn't the best day to wear my African outfit.

I also decided to start my walk at a later time than 9am because I thought I would have a better chance of catching more young people on the streets as it was a Saturday. I started my walk from Croydon Market at around 11.10am.

During todays walk, very few people showed an interest in the issue I was highlighting and I couldn't get pictures at SOuth Croydon Bus Garage or Purley Way Tesco because passersby weren't in a helpful mood today - maybe it was the weather because it made me feel a bit down too.

But there was some good news during todays walk as well, such as a couple of drives honked their horns at me in support which kept me going, and another driver gave me a thumbs up. I also ran into a woman at Coulsdon High Street who told me she'd read an article about my walk and wanted to wish me good luck. Another kind man pulled over and got out of his car to tell me that he'd read the article and wanted to give money towards my charity, but I told him how to do it online and he said he would check it out. I think he might have been American, I could sense it in his accent. I just can't get over how kind the Americans I've met have been, they're almost as kind as us Brits (haha).

When I reached Coulsdon College I decided to take my end of journey photo with the Tudor Rose Pub in the background because it was an easier shot for me to take than if I had tried to get the college in a shot. The Tudor Rose Pub is right next door to the College. PLus it's a new scene - thought I'd add some diversity.

As I hopped on the bus to take me back to Croydon the Bus Driver asked me what I was doing and after I told him, he was so interested that he asked me for a sponsorship card. Also on the tram back to Mitcham a young lad approached me and asked me, "if you're doing a sponsored walk then why are you on the tram?" I explained to him that the walk is from Croydon Central to Old Coulsdon and that I'd already done my day's walk, he smiled and I gave him a card.

So that was DAY 5. It was challenging but it also had some really good moments. I guess with every fundraiser there are ups and downs, and today was a true testimate to that.

I wonder what DAY 6 will bring.....

 

DAY 4:

I have just completed Day 4 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). DAY 4 was another exciting day, filled with lots of surprises.

It began with a long conversation with a girl I met on the tram to Croydon, she told me she is a law student who too is an activist, and ironically she is planning on doing a sponsored walk from Croydon to Brighton to raise money for a Cancer organisation. I have admit our long conversation on development and volunteering got me fired up for the walk which lay ahead of me. THANK YOU LAW STUDENT.

(BY THE WAY the pictures start at Purley Tesco because a photographer for a local newspaper was taking pictures of my earlier journey)

The first people I met on my walk were two nice women in an office who told me that they'd seen me walk past their office 3 times this week and were interested in what I was doing but I accidently kept missing them. Well today was different. I went into their office and told them all about my walk, and the nice ladies said they'd sponsor me. I was so happy to have first met those two women - It made me feel like the whole walk would go really well.

And I was right, because I later met more interested folks whom I informed on water scarcity and handed out my sponsorship cards to.

When I reached Purley Way Tesco, I was fortunate enough to bump into an extraordinarily kind woman with two beautiful daughters. I told her about my walk and then she explained it to her little girls, using me as a perfect example which was really nice. However her good deeds did not end there, she also helped me out by taking a picture of me at Tesco, and also sponsored me. Thank you.

As I was approaching Coulsdon High Street, my former Law Teacher at COulsdon spotted me whilst driving past and pulled over for a chat. He told me that he'd informed his current law class of my wallk and that they were all chipping in to support Restless Development. He is such a superstar and a huge inspiration to me - thank you Mr Morgan Kelly.

And that was DAY 4 - exciting and surprising. I wonder what DAY 5 will bring...

 

 DAY 3:

I have just completed Day 3 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). Today was a GREAT DAY!!!

But it began with a big challenge- I couldn't find my gloves, and so I spent a good 45mins looking for them. By the time I found them and got into Croydon to begin my walk it was 9.50am, almost an hour past my scheduled start time but I went ahead with it anyway.

I met a variety of people during todays walk who were all very interested in what I was doing and how they could sponsor me. Among them were:

- A woman working on a Flower Stall in Croydon Market - she was so kind and supportive, she told me that she'll tell her local community about my walk and encourage them to sponsor me.

- Road Workers - They were amazed by the weight of the 10 litre bottle of water and the distance I was travelling that they promised to sponsor me. Hopefully I'll see them tomorrow.

- Police - At first they were wondering whether I was harassing people for money without a license to do so, but after I explained to them what I was doing and that people can only sponsor me online, they were wholeheartedly in support of my campaign - we even took a picture together which I've sent to their office.

- A Christian woman - She was very interesting in that she wasn't curious as to what I was doing, she just wanted to make a statement. She told me, "You should pray to God to help your people. Your walk will only raise pocket change - only God can save them. Pray. convert. Then God will sow the seeds which will help your people develop." Then she walked on. Whilst I agree that paryer can help, I also believe that God created us for acts of service - I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper (the Bible tells us) - and so God gave us the power to carry out good acts towards others on thys behalf, rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for God to intervene.

- A guy driving a truck yelled out "Keep it up mate," to me.

- Two boys at Tesco - I told them about the walk and one of them wanted to take a picture with me.

- Senior Citizens - I met many older folks who were interested in the walk but told me they don't how to use the internet so they couldn't sponsor me - too bad for restless development.

Group of teens at Coulsdon High Street - At first I was wondering why they weren't at school but I didn't wanna scare them away by bringing it up. Some were interested in my walk; some were being cheeky; but all were impressed by the weight I was carrying and the distance I was walking to highlight the issue of water scarcity.

American woman - She was very nice, and seemed proud of me for doing such a challenging walk. She promised to sponsor me and I think she already has. By the way she was from Chicago, Ilnois (what a cool place).

So that was day 3.

And on the tram home, an African man who was personally proud of me for doing such a walk aproached me and asked to take a picture of me on his phone. He said, "I am from Africa so I know all too well what you're campaigning for."

And on that note bring on DAY 4

 

 

 

DAY 2:

I have just completed Day 2 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). It was an easier journey than yesterdays, but I think that's only because I knew what to expect today.

 

The main highlights of todays walk were the number of drivers who saw the message on my bottle and honked their horns in support. Plus I received the offical support of the COulsdon College Principal David Goodlet - he helped me complete my DAY 2 walk with a toast.

 

On my way back I met two women on the bus who were very interested in my walk and promised to sponsor me, we even started talking about developing countries and Restless Development which was really nice.

 

And before I forget, while on my way to Old Coulsdon I met a women who was so moved by my Walk that she asked God to bestow his blessings upon me.

 

 BRING ON DAY 3

 

 

 DAY 1:

I have just completed Day 1 of my week long Walk for Water from Croydon High Street to Coulsdon College in Old Coulsdon (5.3 Miles). It was a journey!

 

From the moment I hopped onto the tram to go into Croydon right up to my journey home people could not keep their eyes off me (something I'm used to hahaa). A lot of people were so curious as to what I was doing and after informing them, they wanted to give money there and then but I encouraged them to donate online where it goes straight to the charity. Also drivers would stop and read the message on my 10litre bottle about 884m people without clean water. During my walk I met members of the Anerley Bicycle Club who were so kind and very interested in my walk, we even took a group photo.

 

The walk itself was pretty intense and there were moments when the end of the journey seemed improbable, but at those moments I was reminded of the millions of women and girls who don't have a choice other than to do this journey on a daily basis, and that gave me strength to complete the journey which I did. It took me almost 3 hours - not because I'm slow (lol) but because I kept stopping to talk to people about this critical issue and about development in general.