Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 12:29 PM
680 News - By: Shauna Hunt
http://www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070527_122907_3868
Toronto - In various cities across the country, Canadians are coming together at the World Partnership Walk to raise money and increase awarness of the fight against world poverty.
In Toronto, at least 5,000 people gathered at Metro Hall on Sunday to walk in the fundraising event, from John Steet to Queen's Park, and back.
"When you do this, you feel good inside and you see the difference it makes," said 12-year-old Kareem, who has been raising money for the World Partership Walk since he was 8-years-old. This year, he raised over $800.
"I am raising all this money so that they can have a nice life like me; they can have food, they can live," he said.
About 70,000 Canadians have taken part in the walk and to date, the event has raised $36 million to enhance the quality of education and health care in the developing world.
The World Partnership Walk's spokeswoman, Roshan Esmail, told 680News, the event hits close to home for many participating in the walk.
"A lot of Canadians come from those parts of the world - Asia and Africa where we support these programs...they've all come to Canada, the land of opportunity, and they want to give back," she said.
Esmail added that "100 per cent of the funds go directly to the programs." This year, the event organizers hope to raise $5 million.
If you want to help fight world poverty, an online donation can be made at: World Partnership Walk.