Walk for this and that

I was out on my bike yesterday after a long time but it felt good. Along the canal trail I expect kids and dogs and strollers and the usual congestion of a Saturday morning and I'm OK with that. This time there were some signs along the way that said something like: Walk with Jerry for... well, something.

I was wondering if Jerry Lewis had a new thing going or what. There were a few people in yellow tee shirts with similar slogans at the intersections but they weren't doing much. In fact I startled a young girl along the path as I went by. Something enthralling on the iphone it seems.

I went out to my usual turn around and then came back the other way. Now there were bunches of these folks coming towards me. Some like the picture above, carrying jerry cans. Huh?

Their route on the path was just a couple blocks so I was soon clear of them. Except the professional looking photographer who was standing in the middle of the path with her back to me taking a shot of the oncoming walkers. Hello! Not a good idea to have you back to traffic leaning down and sticking your butt out to get the shot for your client! I yelled at her as I went by.

When I got home, I looked it up and it seems this group is raising money for clean water in Africa. That's a pretty good cause, but not always a good use of your money. The best thing they can do is a simple well, with a hand pump that provides clean water. Some of these overly ambitious water projects that use an electric pump with no certain source of the power are just a big boondoggle.

The jerry can idea is based on the fact that often these plastic containers are often used in Africa to transport water and not just in rural areas. Seems a little weird to me to carry an empty can for a couple miles in suburban California to collect some money. How about the African who gets out there with a 20l plastic jerry can full of water to bring back to the house when you're a 12 year old girl? That's the reality, and then wash the clothes when you get home.

It might be simpler to just find the right charity and give them some money. Except in this world of donor fatigue (yes, that's a word) charities need to come up with new gimmicks all the time. I wonder is we can come up with a simpler way?