Partnership Walk in the USA launches with green campaign; aids relief efforts in Pakistan

“The risks––and costs––of inaction on climate change grow each year,” warned Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Toronto earlier this year. “The more we delay, the more we will pay.”

At the 2010 Walks, half of the funds raised will go toward relief and recovery efforts in Pakistan. The Partnership Walk in Chicago alone has already raised over $400 000 for Aga Khan Foundation projects that fight poverty in environmentally sustainable ways. Photo: Hanif Jaffer

His concern is shared by many around the world, who are increasingly living through the effects of climate change. It is also a message that finds resonance in the PartnershipsInAction 2010 event theme: Our Environment: One People, One Planet.

Since 1995, PartnershipsInAction events – initiatives of the Aga Khan Foundation USA (AKF USA) – have attracted over 313,000 participants and raised over $36 million, 100 per cent of which has gone directly towards projects supported by the Foundation. Now in its 16th year, the Partnership Walk is a national annual event held in major cities including Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Orlando and San Francisco.

This year in particular, there is a greater urgency to raise awareness and support because of the 20 million people affected by the destructive Pakistan floods. In response to this natural disaster, the Aga Khan Development Network and Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) are working together to provide search and rescue efforts, evacuation strategies, and relief efforts. Half of the funds generated from this year's Partnership Walk are earmarked to aid efforts in Pakistan.

Volunteers registered 3 000 people at the 2009 Partnership Walk in Los Angeles. Amjad

“The floods in Pakistan are a prime example of why stewardship of our planet is so important,” explains Mirza Jahani, Chief Executive Officer of AKF USA. “The floods were caused by a combination of climatic factors like the unusually high monsoon rainfall and rapidly melting glaciers. But it is also clear that manmade factors like deforestation have had a role to play. It will take Pakistan a long time to recover, and that is precisely the long-term view that AKDN will take when responding to this tragedy.”

In addition to raising awareness about environmental challenges – particularly those faced in poorer countries – volunteers are using this year's theme to promote environmentally friendly practices closer to home as well.

When the Dallas chapter of PartnershipsInAction held its inaugural Flag Football Classic–a pre-walk event in June – it was marketed with paper-free resources and players were supplied with re-usable sports bottles at the game. Naziya Charania, Youth Outreach and Fundraising Manager of the Dallas PartnershipsInAction team, found that the new green strategy was actually more cost-effective.

“Not only did we help the planet, we cut costs,” Charania said. “We reached our main audience for this event through Facebook and Twitter and we didn't have to spend anything on printing flyers or brochures. It was a smart move.”

These new strategies have inspired the youth to provide support in ever-increasing numbers by creating Walk teams, raising money, and volunteering in various events before and on the day of the Walk itself.

In Dallas, Charania and her team have been holding pre-Walk youth engagement activities, such as movie nights for kids and Mountain of Trash – a competition for school students to see which class can collect the most recyclable trash. Besides spreading awareness and involving youth, this competition also involves partner companies that would recycle the trash for the youth.

Mumtaz Rojiani, Development Education Coordinator in the Florida region, is working with youth to develop content for the exhibits at the Walk. In keeping with the theme, the exhibits display AKDN's projects related to environmental initiatives.

“One of the projects was the development of a smoke-free stove, which had a profound impact on health problems,” said Rojiani. “The stove helped women and children, who spend most of their time at home, prevent respiratory infections.”

This stove is an initiative of the Building and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP), a project of the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services. BACIP has sold and helped install 11,500 of these stoves in villages in northern Pakistan to reduce sickness caused by smoke and dust.

It helps the environment too, explained Rojiani. “The stove used firewood more efficiently which reduced deforestation and saved those same women and children many hours a day that were spent searching for firewood.”

“We hope to create a ‘green' ambience on Walk day,” added Rojiani. “I will need younger volunteers to circulate around the event site to collect bottles and cans for recycling.”

AKF USA regional teams are counting on the success of this year's events to address the critical needs of developing nations. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky who attended the Chicago Walk on 19 September applauded the efforts of AKF volunteers.

“I am here today with so many citizens of the world who are committed to building a better, safer and healthier world for ourselves and future generations.”