When people ask Deruka Dekuek how she has found the strength to overcome the hardship in her life, she says it was her harrowing childhood which compelled her to reach out to others.
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At the age of eight, Ms Dekuek was forced to leave school and take up work to support her widowed mother and siblings. Around her, a civil war ravaged South Sudan.
“As a young girl growing up in South Sudan, I would have to walk over 10 kilometres a day to collect firewood and water for my family,” Ms Dekuek said.
She is now an ambassador for CARE Australia, an international humanitarian aid organisation fighting global poverty. As part of her role, Ms Dekuek is leading a free walking and running challenge in October.
The Walk in Her Shoes challenge raises funds to support CARE suwork helping to reduce the distance women and girls have to walk by providing clean water and nutritious food close to home.
“I have walked in those shoes and I know how heavy they are,” she said. “I need people to join me in this campaign to help empower the world’s most vulnerable girls, pull them out of the cycle of poverty and give them the keys to a life they have never imagined.”
Ms Dekuek was granted refugee status in Australia seven years ago. She now works as a mentor at the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council supporting refugees who have recently immigrated to the city.
“It is about giving another Deruka the golden key to gain the world’s most powerful weapon - education,” she said.
CARE Australia’s Head of International Programs Paul Kelly said in the most poverty-stricken countries women are forced to walk an average of six kilometres every day with many carrying 20 litres of water per trip.
“For far too many women and girls this daily burden of walking means they miss out on going to school or having the chance to earn an income,” he said.
On October 10, CARE Australia is asking Australians of all ages to walk in the shoes of those less fortunate. All funds raised will go towards helping women access education and earn an income to help their communities to step out of poverty.
“For Australians to walk a few extra kilometres a day during the Walk in Her Shoes challenge, will mean a lifetime of benefits to thousands of women and girls in some of the world’s poorest countries,” Mr Kelly said. “You choose the distance that suits your ability to walk or run and you have from 10 to 23 October to complete the challenge.”
Details: walkinhershoes.org.au
Melissa Cunningham
City of Ballarat and Social Affairs Reporter
City of Ballarat and Social Affairs Reporter
