Dear Friend,

Welcome to Walk In Her Shoes 2020! On Sunday, March 8th, hundreds of people will be walking in solidarity with the millions of women and girls from developing countries who walk that distance – every day of their lives – to collect the basic necessities of water, food, and firewood for their families. I hope you will join us – in any way you can: by walking, donating, or sponsoring the walk (more information below). The funds raised by CARE’s WALK IN HER SHOES challenge will go toward an amazing cause: To support efforts to address the root causes of malnutrition in Malawi through CARE's Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies campaign: https://care.ca/healthy-moms-healthy-babies

In July 2018, I traveled to Malawi -- the "Warm Heart of Africa" -- with seven other women from the Vancouver Council of CARE Canada to meet women, men and children who are participating in Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies. What a tremendous privilege it was to see upfront the extraordinary differences this program has been making in children’s health and nutrition, in home gardens for growing nutritious food, in women’s empowerment and economic independence! And the program is sustainable.  This is so important -- CARE trains the local trainers, but all the programs are entirely sourced, owned and operated by the women, men and children of the villages. This is my seventh year of participating in the march and I am so excited this year to participate in support of Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies, so that the women of Malawi will have a greater voice and increased access to economic opportunities; so that the children of Malawi – the future promise of Malawi – will have greater access to good heath-care and nutrition.

We will be gathering at the Creekside Community Center, 1 Athlete’s Way on Sunday, March 8. The doors will open at 8:30AM and we will begin the walk at 10AM. Come early and enjoy the silent auction, music, games for children, vendor booths, and contribute to the energy and inspiration!  There you will meet and mingle with many fascinating and caring leaders of all ages and from all walks of life: businesses, high schools, universities and colleges,  political offices, cultural institutions, community organziations, and much more. Please join us in celebration of the courageous women of Malawi and around the world who are stepping up in record numbers to use their voices and talents to defend human rights, dignity and compassion, and the very foundations of our civil society.

Here’s how you can get involved.  You can:

1. Sign up with my team The Warm Hearts or create your own and invite your friends (women, men, children of any age) to join you.

2. Press the “Donate” button on this page and give whatever you can. No amount is too small. And the wonderful part is that the Canadian government will multiply the funds raised by 10!

3. Be a sponsor – either individual or corporate – including gold and platinum levels of $5000 and $10,000. If you are interested, please contact me at nancy.gallini@ubc.ca and we can chat about how this can be done. I very much look forward to seeing you at the walk and/or thanking you for your kind gift to Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2020!  Zikomo!

Nancy