TNT and WFP walked in more than 70 countries across 24 time zones to fight hunger
22 June 2004 - 10:29 CET
TNT and WFP employees, family and friends in some 200 locations in more than 70 countries joined together on Sunday June 20 in a unique "Walk the World" event to raise awareness of hunger and funds for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).By walking in one single global Walk the World event, TNT raised enough money to feed 25,000 children in WFP's School Feeding Programmes for one school year. For an average of just 19 cents a day, WFP - the world's largest humanitarian organisation - can feed a child in school for a year.
The agency is dedicated to eradicating hunger around the globe and has launched a global school feeding campaign to ensure that the 300 million hungry children in the world are fed and educated.
40,000 participants world-wide walked through various weather conditions to draw attention to the 800 million people in the world who do not have enough to eat despite there being enough food in the world for every man, woman and child to live healthy, productive lives.
Across every continent, TNT employees joined WFP staff and celebrities to walk. Former Australian rugby captain and a WFP-Ambassador, Nick Farr-Jones and ex-Wallabies Jeff Miller and Phil Kearns kicked off the walk in Sydney by walking 5 km and the marathon world record holder Paul Tergat led the pack in the Netherlands. Cricket legend Mutthiah Muralitharan also joined WFP's campaign to fight hunger and led the walk in the Sri Lanka capital.
Walks began at 10am local time, with the event kicking off in Auckland, New Zealand, where the world's day begins and ends. As the world turned, TNT, its parent company TPG and WFP employees walked in 24 time zones in 24 hours.
WFP Executive Director James T. Morris joined TNT and WFP employees in South Africa for their walk in Johannesburg. He said: "This is an extraordinary important day when the whole world comes together at every single time zone to walk to raise money to feed hungry children to make it possible for children to have meals at school. Meanwhile in Utrecht, the Netherlands, TPG Post and TNT employees were led by TPG's CEO Peter Bakker and TPG Post's Managing Director Harry Koorstra.
In major cities across the globe, walkers marched past landmarks such as Tower Bridge in London, via Times Square in New York and across Prague's historic Charles Bridge. Twenty-four walks took place in Germany, ten in the UK and eight in Spain. Three walks took place in Italy, including a walk through Rome where WFP is headquartered.
In the Netherlands, walkers strolled along Utrecht's canals and in Jacksonville, Florida - one of 69 walks in North America - speedy walkers braved the incoming tide on the beach. Due to the scorching heat in Egypt, walkers decided to undertake a three-hour climb up Mount Sinai at night. In China, hundreds of TNT's employees and WFP staff walked on the Great Wall of China. TNT employees in Brazil flew to the remote Island of Fernando da Noronha, in the USA to Hawaii and in Australia to the Vanuatu Islands, to ensure that every time zone had at least one walk.
In Portugal, TNT's football fans shifted their attention from the Euro 2004 Soccer Tournament to walk in Lisbon, where the Portuguese team were due to play its neighbour, Spain, later the same day.
Money raised by pledges secured will support WFP's global school feeding campaign, which aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic. Most of the funds raised will go to WFP's under-funded school feeding programme in Sudan where the agency aims to feed more than 300,000 school children.
WFP's school feeding programmes are currently reaching some 16 million children a year, nourishing their bodies as well as their minds and encouraging them to attend school. The agency has set itself the target of feeding 50 million school children by 2008.
The event is part of a groundbreaking partnership between TPG and WFP which was launched in 2002 aimed at a single common goal: fighting world hunger.
For further background information and a selection of photos visit the Walk the World web site: www.walk-the-world.com.
