Walk the World 2005

On 12 June 2005, more than 200,000 people made history in the global fight to end child hunger. In addition to raising 1.2 million Euros - feeding over 70,000 children - we joined together to Walk the World in 266 cities, 91 countries, and all 24 time zones.

• Over 200,000 participants.
• 91 countries, 266 cities, and all 24 time zones.
• €1.2 million raised.
• 70,000 children fed and educated for a year.
   

International capitals, rural communities, neighbourhoods and historical landmarks served as the backdrop to walks which varied in size and style. In Rome, where the WFP is headquartered, walkers strode through the ancient ruins of the Fori Imperiali and the Colosseum. New Yorkers began their walk at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Egypt also featured. The first post-conflict walks were held in Sierra Leone and Liberia while in Malawi, tens of thousands of children who are direct beneficiaries of WFP’s school feeding programmes stepped out with family and friends through their villages.

Artists, intellectuals, political leaders and sports champions turned out to call attention to the horrifying fact that hunger kills a child every five seconds in a world that produces enough food for everyone. Some prominent figures included the President of Honduras, Ricardo Maduro and his wife, first lady Aguas Ocaña, who walked against child hunger in Tegucigalpa. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and his grand-daughter, the model Lauren Bush, walked in Greece, while the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gianfranco Fini and Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, joined the event in Rome. Kenyan marathon champion and former WFP School Feeding beneficiary Paul Tergat led the walk in Lisbon, Portugal. Meanwhile in Zeist, the Netherlands, TNT’s CEO Peter Bakker and TNT Post’s Managing Director Harry Koorstra led the pack.

Most of the €1.2 million raised went to WFP’s under-funded school feeding programme in Malawi, the Gambia and Tanzania. The money was also used in Cambodia and Nicaragua.

The walks held around the globe today were a great success and a tremendous first step forward in eradicating child hunger, but the struggle continues. Few people know that it only costs 19 US cents a day to feed a hungry child in school. It proves that even the smallest contribution can help make a huge difference. -Peter Bakker, CEO TNT