On August 9, I’ll be walking 5km to raise funds for a life-changing clean water project in the village of Ouena, Burkina Faso—a community of over 20,000 people facing extreme poverty and a harsh, arid climate.

Ouena is in an area where droughts can last up to nine months each year, forcing families to rely on polluted rivers and distant wells, which in turn puts their health and safety at risk. Women and girls often walk hours each day just to collect water, missing school and opportunities in the process.

But we can help change that. Funds raised through this walk will go toward drilling two boreholes, giving the people of Ouena a reliable, sustainable source of clean water—right in their community.

This project is especially close to my heart. In 2003, I travelled to Burkina Faso and saw firsthand both the depth of the need and the generosity of the Burkinabé people. That experience made a lasting impression and created a desire to see the people of BF flourish - and access to clean drinking water is one fundamental step in that process.

Would you consider supporting my walk and helping bring safe, accessible water to Ouena? Every gift makes a difference.