TNT Express organised its annual charity event “Walk the World” for the tenth time last weekend(1 – 3 June) in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Unilever and DSM to
raise awareness and money for 925 million people suffering from hunger.Taking place in more than 40 countries from Europe to China and South Africa, the global eventbrought together up to tens of thousands of people. “The idea of a global walk against hunger wasinspired by the millions of poor children around the world who walk several kilometres to schoolevery day – often hungry and barefoot – determined to get an education and improve their future,”TNT explained. By providing daily hot breakfasts for school children throughout the year, theprogramme acts as an incentive for children from poor families to enroll in schools, attend classesregularly and complete their education.
Walk the World takes place in 24 hours across all 24 time zones of the globe beginning inAustralia and ending in Samoa. The initiative began in Singapore in 2003 as an internalfund-raising event at TNT Express where employees and their family walk to raise funds andawareness in support of WFP’s School Feeding Programme to become one of the biggest awareness andfundraising programmes in the world.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of TNT’s partnership with WFP. Besides the main event, TNTExpress has organised a series of local celebrations, including soccer tournaments in Italy andGermany.
In Singapore, 750 people took part in a 2.5 kilometre walk, including members of the public, TNTemployees and partners DSM, Credit Suisse and BSI Bank raising S$80,000 by the end of the event.All of the money raised through the fundraising activities in Singapore will be donated to theSchool Feeding Programme in Cambodia.
In Hong Kong, more than 160 volunteers joined the walk and raised nearly to HK$80,000 in pledgesfor the World Food Programme (WFP) school meals initiative. Edward Lau, Managing Director of TNTExpress Hong Kong, said: “We are proud of our long-term participation in Walk the World. Over thepast decade, this charity activity has provided over 200,000 children with school meals every year.I am happy to see our “sure we can” spirit shining even more brightly to benefit children in needin our global village.”
Walk the World is part of a larger movement by TNT Express called Moving the World, incooperation with UN WFP. TNT Express has invested over $50 million into the partnership.
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.
