"Walk the World" to create awareness about hunger

Aimed at ending child hunger by 2015, TNT India in partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is organising a fund-raising event, "Walk the World", here in the Capital.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will also join the walk along with TNT India employees and their families and celebrities to create public awareness about hunger and malnutrition deaths among children across the globe. Starting from Princess Park near India Gate, the walk -- covering a distance of 5 km -- will culminate at National Stadium.

As part of this global initiative, TNT India is encouraging corporate and industrial houses to be a little benevolent and donate generously so that the money could be used to feed children living in tribal areas of our country. To register for the race, all one needs to do is log into www.fighthunger.org. This walk for a cause will be undertaken in 100 countries across different time zones.

Speaking about the one-of-its-kind walk in the Capital this year, TNT India Managing Director Abhik Mitra said: "Food and hunger are major issues not because of availability but because of a distribution problem. Walk the World provides us an excellent opportunity to put hunger on the international agenda as well as extend financial support for our school feeding programmes that seek to get hungry children into school. The partnership in place with the United Nations enables us to help WFP to respond faster and more efficiently by making our transportation and expertise available".

TNT Regional General Manager (Northern India) Ritwik Barman said that remote areas in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh had already been identified by WFP and malnourished children -- particularly girl child -- were getting midday meals in primary schools.

As part of the United Nations World Food Programme, TNT's employees around the world raised more than 1.2 million dollars in 2003 to support WFP's School Feeding Campaign, while in 2004 they raised Rs.7.9 lakhs in India alone.

The money was used to feed school children in Chhattisgarh for the entire year. The funds raised in 2005 were used to feed children in Madhya Pradesh.

Source: The Hindu More

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