What: 3rd Annual Lug-a-Jug Walk to benefit United Solar Initiative
When: Saturday March 30th at 9 AM
Where: Southern Community Park, 1000 Sumac Rd., Chapel Hill, NC
Why: On average, women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa walk 6K each day just to get clean water. The Lug-a-Jug 6K Walk attempts to simulate this experience. Participants carry an empty jug for the first half of the race, fill it up at a natural water source, and lug the jug back for the second half.
On Saturday, March 30, United Solar Initiative will host the 3rd annual Lug-a-Jug 6K Walk
The purpose of the event is to raise money and awareness for USI’s efforts to alleviate water poverty in developing communities throughout the world.
Better access to clean water positively affects communities in many ways. If women and children spend less time getting water, they’ll have more time to get an education, empower themselves and have a healthier life. Our work towards alleviating water poverty with solar solutions is a smart way to increase water supply resiliency and accessibility. All money raised through Lug-a-Jug supports this effort.
The Lug-A-Jug event not only raises money for these projects, but also raises awareness of the condition of these water-scarce communities. Teams of 5-10 people carry one 5-gallon jug for 3 kilometers unfilled, then 3 kilometers filled. This walk is designed to model the journey many individuals in under-served communities take every day to provide clean drinking water for their families. Teams are tasked to finish the walk as quickly as possible, without letting their jugs touch the ground or spilling any water in the process.
Second annual Lug-a-Jug fundraiser in Chapel Hill a huge success
United Solar Initiative hosted its 2nd Annual Lug-a-Jug Walk on September 30, 2017 to raise funds for our work with World Vision in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are proud to continue this three-year partnership.
On average, women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa have to walk 6K each day just to get clean water. The Lug-a-Jug 6K Walk attempts to simulate what this population has to do each day. Participants carried an empty jug for the first half of the race, filled it up at a natural water source, and lugged the jug back for the second half.
Clean water is not universal. Almost 700 million people do not have access to clean water. World Vision supports 2,000 water pumps throughout Africa, South America, and East Asia providing clean water to a new person every 30 seconds. These water pumps are typically run by an unreliable grid system, diesel fuel or hand cranks. Our solar technicians, Ed Witkin and Jon Ruth visited Kenya, Mali, Zambia, and Ghana to train World Vision Staff to install solar panels to power the pumps.
Better access to clean water positively affects communities in many ways. If women and children spend less time getting water, they’ll have more time to get an education, empower themselves and have a healthier lifestyle. Our work towards alleviating water poverty with solar solutions is a smart way to increase water supply resiliency and accessibility.
The first annual Lug-a-Jug 6k walk was held on Saturday, October 15th, 2016 at Southern Community Park in Chapel Hill
United Solar Initiative (USI) is in a partnership with World Vision, the largest non-government provider of clean water in the world, to help address the issue of water poverty. In this partnership, USI has been tasked to help install solar panels on 100 World Vision water pumps, with 10 installations in 10 different countries. A solar-powered water pump can power the distribution of clean drinking water to an average of 800 individuals per pump. These pumps are to be placed in communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, as a local solution for individuals who travel on average 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) each day to find clean drinking water. These individuals, often women and children, are usually unable to attend school or get a job as a result of spending many hours of their day fetching water.
The Lug-A-Jug event does not only raise money for these installations, but also raises awareness of the condition of these water-scarce communities. Teams of 5-10 people carry one 5-gallon jug for 3 kilometers unfilled, then 3 kilometers filled. This walk is designed to model the journey many individuals in under-served communities take every day to provide clean drinking water for their families. Teams are tasked to finish the walk as quickly as possible, without letting their jugs touch the ground or spilling any water in the process.
