Walk for Water 5k Santa Barbara

Event Overview

Join us for a powerful and transformative experience at the Walk for Water 5K Charity Fundraiser, co-hosted by Pathway To Tomorrow and Drop of Water. This isn’t just a walk—it’s a step into the daily reality that millions of women and girls in Africa face just to access something as basic as water.

Current Water Crisis

• Daily Struggle: Every day, women and girls spend 200 million hours hauling unclean water, often walking miles under a burning sun, along dangerous paths, carrying heavy containers.
• Child Mortality: Every two minutes, a child dies from a water-borne disease, and 1.5 million children under five die annually in Africa from diarrhea caused by unsafe water.
• Impact on Ethiopia: Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, is in the grip of this devastating water crisis.
• Lack of Access: Nearly half of its 125 million people lack access to clean water, according to UNICEF.

Effects on Communities

• Rural Areas: The situation is even worse in rural areas — where 80% of Ethiopians live and are hit hardest by this crisis.
• Education Loss: Girls are expected to miss school to collect water for their families, robbing them of their education, safety, and childhood.
• Tragic Outcomes: For far too many, these walks end in tragedies, like gender-based violence and death — not just exhaustion.
• Call to Action: We walk not just for awareness—but for action.

Challenge and Participation

• 5K Challenge: This 5K fundraiser challenges participants to take 7,000 steps, representing the average distance many walk each day to collect water.
• Carrying Stories: As you walk, you’ll carry not just steps—but stories of resilience, hardship, and hope.
• Team Involvement: We’re asking each participant to go further by asking friends, family, and coworkers to sponsor their steps with a donation to the cause.
• Fundraise: Join your team to fundraise or walk alongside them!

Fundraising Goal

Our goal? To raise $250,000 to fund 2 deep borehole wells and rural piping systems in up to 16 rural villages in Ethiopia. This will provide clean, safe, and sustainable drinking water for up to 16,000 people.

Impact of Your Participation

Your steps can change a life. Your walk can build a well.

Register today. Walk their path. Bring water home.

Event Details

• Date: 2026-05-16
• Location: Chase Palm Park Field - 236 E Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
• Course Info: The course is flat, scenic and shaded.
• More Info: Visit our website for registration and details.