Former United States Barista Champion Lem Butler is embarking on a fundraising walk that will benefit Grounds for Health, named 10K for H.E.R. (Health, Equity, Resources).
The 2016 World Barista Championship fourth-place finisher will be walking 10 kilometres to reflect the reality for many women in rural Ethiopia, who walk five kilometres per day to reach healthcare services.
The charity the walk will support, Grounds for Health, is a non-profit dedicated to preventing cervical cancer among women coffee farmers. The walk will start in a community in Sidama, Ethiopia, before finishing at a health centre.
Proceeds from the walk will support the non-profit’s programs in Ethiopia, which provide education, screening, and treatment in coffee-growing communities.
“Women are the backbone of the coffee industry,” says Lem.
“They grow, harvest, and process the coffee we depend on – yet many are walking hours just to reach basic healthcare.
“10K for H.E.R. is about honouring that reality and turning solidarity into action.”
Royal Coffee will be matching all donations to Lem’s walk dollar for dollar.
The walk will take place on International Women’s Day – 8 March.
More information about Grounds for Health is available here, while the 10K for H.E.R. fundraising page can be reached here.
