‘Water, health and hope’
An Ohio man’s marathon run across the United States to raise money to provide safe drinking water for people living in a region of Ethiopia took him through Washington County Saturday.
Daren Wendell of Canton began his 100-day journey on New Year’s Day from the Santa Monica pier in California to raise money for Lifewater International’s Ethiopia Project which will provide safe drinking water to 3,000 people of Borena in the country’s southeastern Oromiya region.
Wendell is a Team Activewater athlete, using his athletic gift to help those in Africa get safe drinking water. Lifewater International powers Activewater, the organization co-founded by Wendell in 2009.
Accompanied by his wife, Danielle Wendell, and their team, the 33-year-old has run the equivalent of a marathon daily across the country with his journey coming to an end April 10 in New York City’s Times Square. The team travels in a camper staying about 10 to 15 miles ahead of Wendell, searching for Wifi so they can continue their work.
Wendell trained for the trek for two years. His wife helped with the planning.
Wendell said water has always been his passion. He spent a month in Ethiopia, seeing firsthand the conditions.
“They have the same dreams as us all the way down to how they like their coffee,” Wendell said. “It is a resource issue.”
“I call it water, health and hope,” he added. “Getting them access to water, providing sanitation and hygiene training and giving hope through the presentation of the Gospel.”
This is not the first time Wendell engaged in an athletic endeavor to raise money to help provide safe drinking water. He cycled and walked across the country, swam cross Lake Michigan and hiked the Appalachian Trail in addition to running marathons and half-marathons.
Saturday marked the 87th day of his trek that will continue across the hills of Pennsylvania on his way to New Jersey and eventually New York City.
“It usually is the toughest when it rains,” Wendell said. “The only high temperature I encountered was out West, and that was only about 80 degrees.”
And at the end of his journey, Wendell and his 25-year-old wife will return to Canton where they will settle down and plan to start a family.
To date, Wendell’s efforts have raised $118,000 toward his new goal of $120,000. While some people have given him money during his run, most donations have been made online. Donations can be made to the effort on www.darenrun.com.
For more information on the project in Ethiopia, go to activewater.org.