CAIRO: Now in its eighth year, the “Walk the World” fight against hunger organized by the World Food Program (WFP) in collaboration with TNT, Unilever and DSM companies, took place at the American University in Cairo’s (AUC) New Cairo Campus on Sunday to raise awareness and funds for the organization’s projects.
Egypt’s participation in the walk at AUC was sponsored by First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.
Out of the 1000 people attending were actress and WFP Ambassador Against Hunger, Hend Sabry, Japanese Ambassador to Egypt Kaoru Ishikawa, AUC President David Arnold and Helwan Governor Kadry Abo Hussein.
The walk was followed by a performance by the popular local band “Massar Egbari.”
However, many were disappointed with the event’s organization as it commenced 45 minutes late, and ended abruptly.
Veteran actor Mahmoud Yassin and playmaker Mohamed Abou-Trika were both scheduled to attend but were a no show.
The walk was also repeatedly interrupted to allow for photographs, which gave a lot of the attendees the impression that the event was more of an opportunity for publicity rather than true adherence to the cause.
Announcements of the commencement of the walk were also not clearly publicized through a microphone and speakers, creating confusion among participants.
Sponsoring food companies began distributing food packets prior to the arrival of several public school children to the event, who were the main focus of the walk.
Meanwhile others lauded the success of the event and stressed its importance.
“I think this event is crucial for awareness as children need to be educated about the issues of hunger worldwide,” said Sabry. “If every individual paid only LE 1, millions more children worldwide would be fed.”
“I have participated in most of the ‘Walk the World’ yearly events which took place in Egypt. It is necessary for the public to realize that children must eat in order to study and that nutrition and education walk hand in hand,” said Ishikawa.
“The walk in Egypt demonstrates solidarity among Egyptians and all those who work in development in support of this noble cause," said WFP Egypt Country Director and Representative Gianpietro Bordignon.
Mohammed Barak, TNT Sales and Marketing director, said, “The event aims to spread awareness on hunger through students, which is why the event is taking place at arguably the best university in the Middle East.”
“The event has grown dramatically since its launch in 2002, as there has been a yearly increase in donations, and more than 1 million school children have been helped worldwide,” he added.
David Arnold, AUC president, said, “I cannot stress how important this event is. Children are the future, and we need to start spreading awareness on hunger among them.”
Dina Elabd, AUC student ambassador, explained, “Although I support the walk, I wish there had been greater student participation. Students themselves should have been participating in the actual organization process, as they would know how to target [other] students.”
On the same day, tens of thousands of people joined the walk along with the WFP and its sponsors in more than 70 WFP member countries beginning in Auckland, New Zealand, and finishing in Samoa.
Last year 360,000 people walked in 210 locations, raising enough money to provide school meals for one year to more than 20,000 students.
In Egypt, around 400,000 children and their family members benefit from the WFP’s school feeding scheme in 11 governorates that include Beni Suef, Minya, Sohag, Qena and Assiut.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.
