‘Walk in her shoes’ campaign awareness

A Pivot Software employee based in the Sydney office, recently took part in CARE Australia’s Walk in Her Shoes challenge, which ran from 17-23 March 2014.  The campaign was designed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by many women in the developing world, who need to walk great distances every day simply to conduct the necessities of life.

It involved around 4,000 individuals being required to walk 25 KM, 50KM or 100KM in 7 days.  No treadmills, because we are walking in the shoes of these women.   Collectively nearly $1m has been raised so far by the walkers via their sponsors.

Upon reflection on what the week of walking entailed, below are some notes:

Thank you to everyone that has supported the cause. My 100kms of walking has been completed and so far $1,126 dollars have been raised with your help.

During this campaign, one of the requirements was to take note of the thoughts that come about during the walking campaign. In addition, after every 25kms walked, I was given a video to watch of a case study of some of the women who were walking miles to collect firewood, water, seeking medical health, and so forth. For example, some women in Papua New Guinea have to cross rivers and walk many kilometres to go and deliver their babies – I found this heart breaking.

 As a thank you note to everyone and also spreading the awareness, I would like to update you on my reflections during this campaign; they serve as great life lessons for me:

• Comfort - The luxury we have of wearing good footwear – despite having that luxury, my ankles were aching and I had shin splints. When I felt like complaining, I realized that these women are usually bare footed and they don’t have the chance to walk on good roads, but instead on harsh terrains.
• Safety – I had to time plan and ensure that I was walking during safe hours and using safe routes around Sydney that CARE Australia recommended. Girls and women in some countries are often running the risk of rape and abuse during their trips to complete their domestic chores. They are fearful when they are walking long distances as sometimes they are even attacked by members of their own clan.
• Time – there were days when I could not make my quota of 15kms per day due to work, driving and other commitments.  As a result, I took a day off on Friday to catch up on my kilometres and also had to spend a fair amount of the weekend as well to reach the 100kms target.   This is the core reason why so many of these girls and women can’t pursue their education properly; they simply don’t have time to access education as their days are spent walking miles to collect food for their families.
• Empathy – I was physically tired and felt for these women. I had the luxury of not just nourishing myself with good food but also pampering myself with a massage. I felt for these women, because here I was indulging myself to help complete a challenge, whereas this is day-to-day living for many others.

These reflections have added significance to my life and make me feel ever more grateful to live in the country we do and where we tend to take the comfort of our lives for granted. This experience reaffirms my intention to continue supporting those that are less privileged than us.

Those that would like to support the campaign, the donations can still be made at this link. http://www.carewihs.org.au/PersonalPage.aspx?registrationID=715384&langPref=en-CA

For those that would like to hear a song of gratitude from some of the women who’ll benefit from the campaign and see other case studies, please view these amazing videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCG5zDadg10&list=UUEk3qqnIe69PmrpcbpUXQIQ&feature=share

Thank you