DOWNEY — Hundreds of students are expected to participate in a “Walk for Water” fundraiser next week to raise funds and awareness to fight the global water crisis.

Organizing the event is Downey High School KIWIN’s, a student service club affiliated with Kiwanis. The event is Saturday, Feb. 9, at Downey High School. Registration opens at 8 a.m. and the actual walk starts at 9.

In the walk, students and supporters pay an entry fee and then walk 5 kilometers around the Downey High track while carrying either a 5-gallon jerry can or a single gallon of water, depending on what each participant can handle.

The goal is to teach students about the water crisis by emulating the millions of women and children around the world who walk an average of six hours per day while carrying a 45-lb. jerry can just to get clean water.

All funds raised will be donated to the Thirst Project, a non-profit organization that builds wells in Africa and South America where access to clean water is scarce.

Students have set a goal of $12,000 to build their own well.

“We take water for granted while people in developing countries have to walk for hours and miles just to get water that is not even safe to consume or even touch,” said Diana Mae Baliscao, a junior at Downey High. “I want to be able to give people access to clean water which can benefit the lives of so many people living in developing countries.”

Wendy Galvan, a sophomore at Downey High and president of the KIWIN’s club, said she was inspired to help after learning that so many people lack access to clean drinking water.

“Living in this great country, we have so much to be thankful for so we should be gracious and give back,” Galvan said. “I think this walk will really help us do that. It will help us inform people of what’s going on and hopefully they will be inspired to help people in our own communities as well.”

Leslie Lira, a senior at Downey High, has participated in previous Walks for Water and called it “humbling and inspirational.”

“It puts things into perspective as to what is going on in this world,” Lira said. “So many kids living in these developing countries are not able to get a proper education because they have to travel miles every day to collect water. What makes this worse is that the water they are collecting is unsanitary, water that can make them sick or, even worse, kill them.”

Cost to participate in the walk is $10 for Downey High students with an ID and $25 for everyone else. More than 300 students are signed up to participate, plus an additional 25 teachers.

To register, visit bit.ly/febwalkforwater.