July 28, 2019
JERSEY CITY, NJ—Today the International WeLoveU Foundation hosted its 23rd New Life Family Walkathon to support Mozambique disaster relief efforts after cyclones Kenneth and Idai. The walkathon also launched WeLoveU’s #AIMfortheGoals campaign to promote everyday actions people can take to fulfill the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speakers included Actor and Climate Activist Tim Guinee, Mozambique Ambassador Carlos Dos Santos, United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) Public Information Officer Felipe Queipo, and French-American Chamber of Commerce Sustainability & Innovation Committee Liaison Lindsey Prowse. Nearly 2,000 walkers from along the East Coast participated in the walkathon, which is one of others taking place in Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, and South Korea to help fulfill the SDGs.
“It’s a sense of joy and appreciation for the kind of solidarity to say, ‘Mozambique and Mozambicans, you are far away, but we are with you. We want to support you; we want to help you,’” said Ambassador Carlos Dos Santos from the Embassy of Mozambique to the United States. “Mozambique was hit by one of the worst cyclones that we’ve ever seen in Mozambique in March and when we’re trying to take account of the destruction and killing of more than 600 people in the central region of the country, a second cyclone hit the northern part of the country, killing close to 100 people and destroying even more infrastructure.”
“Whenever we see these disasters taking place around the world, it’s part of our responsibility as a global family to help however we can,” said John Power, spokesperson of the International WeLoveU Foundation.
For almost two decades, the New Life Family Walkathon has been held in South Korea to help those in most need in and outside of Korea, including Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Nepal, Haiti, and Tuvalu. Last year, for the first time, the New Life Family Walkathon took place in the United States—at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to support WeLoveU’s #BrightHaiti Project, which donated more than 3,000 solar-powered lanterns to vocational school students in Haiti. This year, the walkathon has not only taken place in South Korea and in the United States, but also in Brazil, Peru, and the Philippines.
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About the International WeLoveU Foundation
The International WeLoveU Foundation is an NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications. Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah founded WeLoveU as a vehicle to promote unity and friendship among all people of the global village—beyond nationality, race, religion, and socioeconomic status—through impactful volunteerism within the initiatives of blood drives, social welfare, environmental protection, and international aid. WeLoveU has received more than 100 honorary and presidential awards from various countries and governments including the U.S. President’s Call to Service Award for volunteerism and the Green Apple Award for best environmental practice. Today WeLoveU is located in more than 50 countries around the world. For more information, visit weloveuusa.org.