Lug-a-Jug 6k brings water scarcity awareness to Chapel Hill

The first ever Lug-a-Jug 6K walk was held Saturday to raise awareness for the over 780 million people around the world who don't have access to clean water. 

United Solar Initiative, a nonprofit from Chapel Hill that helps to enable underdeveloped communities around the world tackle their energy and water needs, held the event to help raise funds to bring solar panels to water pumps in sub-Saharan Africa.

The event, which took place in Southern Community Park in Chapel Hill, tasked teams with walking three kilometers without a jug, filling up a five gallon jug at Morgan Creek and then walking the remaining three kilometers with the jug in hand.

Registration began at 8:30 a.m. and the walk itself commenced at 9:30 a.m. Teams tried to finish the race as quickly as possible without dropping the jug or spilling any water.

Steven Thomsen, president and co-founder of USI, said the event was meant to raise funds and to offer locals a feel for what the daily struggle for water might be like in most countries.

“We picked six kilometers because that’s the average distance that people in Africa walk every day to fetch clean water,” Thomsen said. “I wanted to help people connect with what life is like for people that don’t have access to clean water.”

The proceeds for the event went toward water pump installations in Ghana and Kenya, which are just two of the 10 countries USI has been contracted to install solar panels in. USI is currently partnered with World Vision, the largest non-governmental provider of clean water in the world and will provide solar power to 100 World Vision water pumps.

Lydia Odom, an environmental studies major and co-president of the UNC chapter of USI, helped organize the event and said she witnessed the issue of water scarcity first-hand.

“I spent time in Kenya a couple of years ago, so I’ve definitely seen the effects of what not having clean water can do to the human body and can do to a community,” she said. “You know, water-borne illness is one of the most prevalent reasons for people dying worldwide and so I feel personally just very connected to that issue.”

In total, the event raised about $5,000 from sponsorships and attendees, with employees from other solar providers like Strata Solar toting jugs and students from as far as Duke coming to show support for environmental solutions and water scarcity awareness.

Serkan Erdem, a grad student from Duke University, came to show support and stress the importance of USI’s mission.

“To make a difference United Solar Initiative is doing an amazing job — their cause is extremely important and we want to help them out as much as we can,” he said.

After the walk was over, food trucks from Lumpy’s Ice Cream and El Molcajete came to serve lunch, music was played over a solar-powered speaker and a raffle was held doling out various prizes to the walkers.

While it’s not certain whether or not the event will continue again next year, organizers at the event seemed pleased by the turnout and by the community’s strong show of support.

“It all depends on the feedback we get from participants,” Odom said of the event’s continuation. “I think it’s definitely a possibility though, we’re very excited about it.”

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