nurnberg 190921 07870 2006Beaufort Walk for Water attracted over 660 walkers to Port Royal on Saturday, September 21. The annual Walk is a family-friendly community event that promotes awareness of the global water crisis while raising funds to provide safe, sustainable water around the world.

All the proceeds, this year estimated at $65,000, benefit Water Mission, a Charleston-based nonprofit Christian engineering organization that builds safe water solutions in developing countries and disaster areas.

nurnberg 190921 07870 1869Some 660 walkers gathered at Live Oaks park Saturday morning before 9 am. Coffee was served, and the community was entertained with live music during registration. 

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Kevin Herr of Water Mission International demonstrated how a typical water filtration system is used, and the impact clean and safe water has in the 55 countries Water Mission is active in. 

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Robert Lasher of the Beaufort Walk committee, explained the urgency of helping; a person dies every 37 seconds from water-related illnesses, while $25 could provide that person safe water for life. 

Most walkers signed up for a team. The 47 teams taking part in the walk represented businesses, neighborhoods, churches, and other interest groups, and friendly rivalry took place between teams. (See top picture.)
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This family-friendly event attracted walkers and their pets of all ages and stages, and the weather made for a very pleasant walk and a chance to catch up with friends along the route. 

nurnberg 190921 07870 2106Local high school students helped and cheered on walkers along the route, providing encouragement and helpful water-related facts to motivate the three-mile walk through Port Royal. 
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Empty buckets in hand, walkers made their way to Sands Beach, where the Port Royal Fire Department filled up their buckets for the remaining walk back to Live Oaks Park. 
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Filling up the bucket at roughly the half-way point was to symbolize the trek millions of women and children make every day to fetch water for their family’s needs; Water that is often dirty, and makes them sick.