Walk in Her Shoes Challenge returns to Mission Creek Park next weekend

The Walk in Her Shoes Challenge will return to Mission Creek Park on March 9, 2019, at 10 a.m. for its fourth year in the Okanagan.

Created by CARE Canada, the challenge raises funds and awareness to help break the cycle of poverty.

Attendees are asked to walk 10,000 steps in solidarity with women and girls in developing countries, who travel that distance to acquire food, water, and firewood daily.

Challenges take place all across Canada and the world, and Kelowna’s event managed to raise just under $5,000 in 2018 thanks to the support of a driven crowd of 70.

“It is really inspiring to see the community come together to support these women and girls who are a world away,” said Ulrike Thomas, Regional Development Manager for CARE.

This year Thomas and her crew of local organizers are hoping to get 100 people out to Kelowna’s event to not only enjoy the walk, but to support CARE’s Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies project — which will help to address the root causes of malnutrition in places like Zambia and Malawi.

Prior to a walk through Kelowna’s stunning Mission Greenway, attendees can enjoy a warm-up courtesy of The Women’s Place Fitness and various activities like a basket carrying and Kanga wrap challenge, to help attendees better understand the life of the women they are helping.

“We started the activities last year after participants started asking, “I wonder if I could do that?” It puts things into perspective for people and is also a great way to engage children in the conversation,” added Thomas.

Registration for the walk is already open online, however, if you arrive by 9:30 a.m. on the day of you can still join in on the philanthropic fun for a fee of $25 for adults or $10 for students, children and youth are free.